24
by distant reminiscence
Summary: There's always been something special about junior high tennis players of Japan: they can read the future. The secret is the number 24 but when Ryoma starts developing these powers as well, the final battle for the ultimate treasure begins...
1. Question 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, not me.****  
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_Dang it... midterm exams already_, Ryoma thought cruelly to himself. _How boring..._

The math exams weren't tough though. In fact, exams weren't hard at all. Not for first years at least. And definitely not for Ryoma. He was an exceptional student. Hard to imagine since he sleeps soundly through almost every one of his classes.

So Ryoma whizzed right through the test. Whence he reached the last question, there was still more than 15 minutes left. Ryoma sighed out of boredom. _Might as well finish this now and sleep the rest of the class. _He began to read the problem:

Emil**y** is walking t**o** school from her ho**u**se at a rate of 3 **b**locks **e**very 14 minutes. When Jeff wal**k**s at the same rate as Em**i**ly, and takes the most **d**irect route to school, he arrives in 42 mi**n**utes. How m**a**ny blocks a**p**art are J**e**ff's house an**d **the school?

Ryoma blinked. _Why were some of the letters standing out from the rest?_ Assuming he was hallucinating due to the immense amount of time he'd been sitting in a chair, he wiped his eyes and blinked twice again.

But the letters remained the way they were. As Ryoma continued to stare perplexedly at the letters, all the other letters began to disappear. Soon, all that remained of Question 24 was:

**y o u b e k i d n a p e d **

Ryoma, being the sensible and clever guy he was, began to write each letter down in one line to see if the random letters meant anything. And he was rewarded with this:

**youbekidnaped**

Ryoma showed no reaction to this on the outside. Yet if anyone listened close enough to the absolute silence of the room, they would hear the loud thumping of Ryoma's heart, pulsing twice as fast as the rhythm of the clock's ticks.

Because every idiot on the face of the Earth would've known the basic message in the cluster of letters. Basically, it meant:

"**You will be kidnapped.**"

- - -

_Curse Question 24..._ Ryoma thought angrily to himself. _I bet, had it not been for that one question, I would've gotten a 100..._

That's right. At the moment, all Ryoma was thinking about was how stupid he'd been to linger on one question for 15 minutes without even answering it! He wasn't even worrying about what he'd seen or what it had said.

Ryoma just wasn't one to worry about matters such as those.

He'd figured it'd just been some hallucination due to being stuck to a chair for 5 hours.

And so Ryoma went around the rest of the day in a foul mood. And it wasn't the smartest idea to approach Ryoma in a foul mood so those who knew him well stayed away.

When tennis practice ended, Momo had made up an excuse to not bike home with Ryoma. See, Momo's smart that way. Ryoma just agreed and decided to walk home alone. He was still thinking about Question 24, trying to recall and answer it in his head even though it didn't really matter now.

A car started to pull up next to Ryoma. Still focused on answering the stupid question, he didn't notice.

Until something hit him on the side of the head. Hard.

So hard he blacked out.

But he'd been smiling as his head hit the cold, hard concrete.

Because he'd finally figured out the answer!

- - -

Ryoma opened his eyes to find himself laying flat across the back seat of some expensive car. He immediately felt different but soon realized it was due to the fact that his hands were tied up behind his back and he wasn't wearing his hat.

He groaned and sat up straight, having an urge to rub his throbbing head. Then he remembered his tied-up hands.

He strained to see the face of the person in the driver's seat. Yet the person was wearing a paper bag over their head which disguised any familiar features. Ryoma sighed and just sat. Isn't he smart?

The anonymous driver was confused. _Why doesn't he start shouting or yelling or questioning me or saying anything??_ the person wonders. Obviously, this person doesn't know Ryoma well. The person wanted to tell Ryoma to say something but the person didn't want to give away his/her voice. So the driver remained silent. How smart is he/she?

So these two smart people just sat in silence because the outside noise was blocked off by the soundproof windows. Ryoma was comfortable anyways. The car was very expensive and elegant.

As Ryoma sat and gazed out the window, he began to wonder where they were going, what he was doing here, who the mysterious driver was, and who would feed Karupin. He's that caring of a cat-owner.

He also began to wonder why his head was throbbing. Then he remembered something hitting his head the moment he had figured out the answer to Question 24. It was 9.

Soon he realized that the premonition he'd received on Question 24 had come true. He was being kidnapped! Yes, he _just _figured that out now. He was that dense.

But he continued to stay silent. Because that's just the way he is.

He didn't worry about such matters much.

His silence was irritating the driver a lot, though. But the two remained as quiet as ever. So the 30-minute drive seemed like it lasted forever.

Finally, they arrived at... somewhere. At least as far as Ryoma could tell. He didn't recognize the scenery whatsoever. It seemed to him that they'd arrived in the middle of a city where a tall building with many stories towered before them. Ryoma looked at the building with apathy. All he wanted was to be home. He had to feed Karupin. He had to try and beat Oyaji.

The person, who wore a long, black leather jacket just to cover up his/her gender, was trying to scratch his/her head but proved unsuccessful with the paper bag covering it. Ryoma rolled his eyes.

"Mind to loosen these ropes?" he finally asked, lifting his hands which were tied behind him. The person, still unwilling to speak to keep their gender secret, just grabbed Ryoma's shoulder and pushed him towards the entrance of the building.

Ryoma just sighed and went along with his kidnapper.


	2. Floor 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, not me.****  
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Momoshiro biked down the maze of streets, cars and houses, mindlessly zigzagging around for no specific reason. He realized soon that he had nothing to do now that Ryoma wasn't with him.

You see, Momo's daily ritual of stuffing his mouth with millions of burgers after tennis practice just wasn't the same without Ryoma next to him muttering "Mada mada dane..."

And so Momo finally ended up just deciding to head on home.

As he continue to bike to his house, he noticed something idiosyncratic about the scenery around him. He was sure this was the way back to his house, for he knew the town like the back of his hand, but he couldn't help and notice something was different. For one thing, the houses and buildings around him seemed unfamiliar and fake. Which was odd because he takes this route every day to go back home. Plus, the normally crowded streets were empty. Car-less, people-less, and --- amazingly peaceful! Yes, Momo decided he enjoys the new peace and quiet, not even worrying about _why _it was so silent and empty. Big mistake, Momoshiro.

Suddenly, some other noise joined in with the bike's pedaling rhythm.

Momo's bike had begun to rattle. Like it was breaking down slowly and extra pieces or screws were falling off. Momo looked down at his bike's wheels and body, checking to make sure that it was alright. Yet another big mistake, Momoshiro.

Since his eyes were strayed from the path in front of him, he didn't notice something happening to the street.

A part of the road in front of him had slid open, revealing a pit of black nothingness. Yet Momo failed to notice this, still trying to detect what was wrong with his bike.

And so Momo rode directly into the enormous hole in the ground.

Had anyone been there, they might have seen him fall.

Had anyone been there, they might have heard his piercing scream as it decreased into nothing.

Had anyone been there, there might still have been some hope of realizing and rescuing Momo from whatever was in the pit.

But, unfortunately for Momoshiro, no was around to save him.

- - -

The inside of the building was almost as impressive as Tezuka's style of tennis. Almost. The Tezuka Zone still rules all.

Ryoma and his mysterious kidnapper stood at the entrance of the building, apparently waiting for something. What that something was, Ryoma had no clue. But he didn't really care. Yay, Indifferent Ryoma to the rescue!

Anyways, to him, it seemed as if the building was a hotel. Mixed with an office building. Mixed with a tourist attraction building. Mixed with a hospital. So to him, it was basically a tourist-attracting office hotel that comes with a hospital. Great deal, no?

By the front desk, there was a whole line of people, just waiting to be checked into the "hotel". By the elevator, there was a whole line of tourists just waiting to enter the "tourist attraction", whatever it was, with their tickets in their hands. By the hallway, mobs of men and women dressed in formal business outfits, who worked in this "office" building, were entering and exiting random rooms with laser pointers (probably for their work presentations or something). By the white, swinging doors and the huge Red Cross sign, random nurses exited or entered the "hospital", pushing around beds or wheelchairs occupied with random injured, sick, or old people.

All the busy commotion made Ryoma's kidnapper dizzy. At least Ryoma assumed that when the person started to rub their paper-bagged temples but with no success.

See, any idiot would've realized that this was the perfect opportunity to run away from their kidnapper. With the crowds and crowds of random people bustling all over the place and with the kidnapper having a fierce headache (and not to mention a paper bag over their head that doesn't have especially big eyeholes), this would've been the ideal chance of escape.

But, as we should all already know, Ryoma doesn't care for such things. He's obviously apathetic to his current situation. No matter how dire it may be.

Finally, the kidnapper saw whatever they were waiting for and started to move again, whisking Ryoma along with them. Every now and then, Ryoma would crash into a stranger or a piece of furniture.

For, you see, he was still worrying about who was going to feed Karupin.

It was funny how no one noticed or cared about a young boy with his hands tied up behind him being led by a mysterious person with a paper bag on their head. Out of all the people, no one even stopped to wonder what was going on. People can be so dense sometimes...

Ryoma blinked back into reality as he and his captor turned down an abandoned hallway and entered a private elevator. Ryoma hastily went in and looked at the 55 buttons. _Wow... a lot of floors..._ he thought to himself.

He and his captor stood in the elevator awkwardly, waiting for the door to close.

"So. How 'bout loosening these ropes now?" Ryoma asked the person once again.

The hostage taker just rolled his/her eyes behind those minuscule little eyeholes. Ryoma muttered to himself under his breath, "Mada mada dane..."

As the elevator started up, the tiny screen above the door which said which floor they were on started to flash numbers. To pass time, Ryoma just stared at the numbers, wondering which of the 55 floors they were going to stop at.

_1... 3... 7...move faster...11... 13... 18...23..._ Ryoma continued to stare blankly at the numbers, almost falling asleep (as if he didn't have enough of that during class). The ones' digit in 23 changed to a 4 so that the screen now said 24.

Ryoma stared at the screen, waiting for the 24 to change to a 25. Yet it didn't. It stayed at 24. Ryoma, confused, looked at his kidnapper to see if they'd noticed this as well.

But kidnapper wasn't showing any sign of surprise.

Or movement, for that matter.

He/she was frozen still.

Ryoma just blinked and shrugged. He then returned his gaze to the elevator screen.

But the black screen and the green number 24 it had on it had disappeared. Instead, it was replaced by a color screen showing some sort of scene taking place. Kind of like a TV.

The scene had a person with a long, black leather jacket and a paper bag over their head. Ryoma, since he's so darn smart, inferred that this person was his kidnapper.

In the scene, the kidnapper was in a room, facing a desk. A person was most likely sitting behind it, since Ryoma saw a pair of hands clasped together on the desk, but the person's body and face was just cut off by the small limit of space the screen showed.

Ryoma's anonymous kidnapper and the other anonymous person behind the desk were alone in the room. Or as far as Ryoma could tell, they were. The room was spacious, giant glass windows lining one wall, deep azure-colored wallpaper lining the other. The other two walls Ryoma could not see, due to his range of vision.

Suddenly, Ryoma's kidnappers arm lifted up to their paper-bagged head. The person then grasped their paper bag in their hands and took it off, revealing their face.

Ryoma gasped.

Well, not really. Because Ryoma didn't care much. He just blinked.

But any normal person who actually cared for such matters would've gasped after seeing their kidnapper's true identity.

- - -

"My bike!!" Momoshiro yelled in horror after seeing his bike's current state. One of its wheels had come out and rolled away, the handle bars with broken and bent in awkward positions, and the rest of the bike's body was deformed until it was no longer really considered bike at all. Poor Momo.

Momo knelt by what used to be his bike and mourned for some fifteen minutes. Then, he proceeded to collect the lost wheel and some other parts that had broken off and piled the pieces all up in a little mound. Having no dirt or shovel to dig a grave, he just murmured one last goodbye before getting up.

Momo looked around him. The darkness of the place suddenly hit him. It seemed that the only light there was one far, far away. For he was in some sort of tunnel. With only one direction other than up.

Since that the light was in that direction, and not mention that that was the only route he could take, Momo decided to head down the tunnel in that direction.

But before he turned to go, he looked up to analyze how deep into the ground he was.

Apparently, he was pretty far down because the speck of daylight above him was so infinitesimal (my urge to input more advanced vocabulary took over).

It suddenly occurred to him that his bike had taken the worst of the fall yet he didn't have one bruise on his body!

Well, he technically did. He got one earlier today during tennis practice...

But, anyways, that great of a fall should have killed him! The ground was stiff, hard cement! He should've died!

Yet, Momo is still standing. How odd.

Momo, still perplexed by why he was still breathing, just decided that he shouldn't be complaining. So, with this disturbing question still lingering in his mind, he began to walk towards the light.

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Haha, how ironic... (Get it? Since, like, people who are on the brink of deathwalk towards the light and Momo should've been on the brink of death but he wasn't at all and so that's kind of ironic and... yeah...) 


	3. Organization 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, not me. Man, I wish I _did _own it though... PoT rocks!**

**A/N: Extremely sorry that my previous chapters were so short. I'm just kind of lazy to make them too long. I hope these next few chapters are at a more satisfying length.

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As time started back up for Ryoma, the elevator screen returned back to normal. It continued to show the floor numbers: 25... 28... 32... until finally they stopped at floor 39.

Ryoma merely stared at his kidnapper as the person exited the elevator. He was still processing the fact that was his kidnapper. He was so caught up in the thought that he'd forgotten to step out of the elevator.

His kidnapper, used to Ryoma just following him/her like a puppy, didn't notice and continued to walk out into the hallway.

By the time his captor realized that Ryoma wasn't following him/her, he/she had turned around just to see Ryoma, frozen in the elevator, before the elevator's doors slid shut.

Ryoma saw the person start to run back to him, yelling, just as the doors slid shut. Ryoma, suddenly realizing his dire situation, jumped to press a random floor button. He'd randomly pressed the button 17. While waiting to arrive at floor 17, Ryoma continued to ponder to himself about his kidnapper's true identity.

Just as the doors slid back open, revealing floor 17 to him, the loudspeakers of the building clicked on and alarms screeched piercingly all around him.

"Emergency lock down. Everyone please remain calm. Emergency lock down. All possible exits are being shut and locked. Emergency lock down. Everyone please remain calm."

Ryoma froze and listened as the announcement repeated itself over and over again. He glanced around. Random people began muttering amongst the shriek of the alarms, wondering what was going on.

_Dammit, they're doing this because I've escaped..._ Ryoma realized.

Suddenly, men in long black trench coats and sunglasses that hid their eyes entered the hallways, searching for someone. They started to spread out further down that hall, towards Ryoma and the elevator, checking every nook and cranny of the vast hallway.

Ryoma immediately knew they were searching for him.

_Oooooh, not good... _Ryoma thought, looking around him for a place to hide.

His eyes locking on to the emergency staircase, he began to run towards it at the speed of light. You know, since he's all short and speedy.

The Men in Black (Ryoma dubbed them this title and from now on known as MIB) caught sight of Ryoma and began to run after him. But Ryoma, being obviously more agile than the huge and burly men, reached the door first. He shoved the door open and slammed it shut behind him, hearing the satisfying crack of one MIB's nose as the door crashed into it.

Ryoma sprinted down the staircase, thinking about what he was going to do next now that all the exits were locked and shut. He groaned as he heard the thumps of the MIB close behind him. He jumped over one railing, landing on the next staircase. He quickly ran to a door, pulled it opened and entered floor 13.

Floor 13 turned out to be the "hospital" part of the building. All around him, there were nurses, doctors, injured patients, sick patients, old patients, mental patients, relatives of patients, and more MIB.

Ryoma cursed under his breath as he ducked behind some bed. The MIB were searching everywhere here too. Though there weren't as many on this floor, there were still, at the least, 20 on this floor.

Ryoma slowly began to push the bed as he hid behind it, pushing it towards an empty room he spotted not too far away. Slowly and steadily he pushed onward, careful not to move too fast as to draw attention to himself.

Soon, he reached the door, rolled the bed inside and then slipping in himself, closing the door behind him.

"Mada mada dane...," he said aloud, smirking complacently.

But the smug grin on his face was wiped away when he saw a man in a long white doctor's coat standing before him with a look of surprise.

_Damn!_ Ryoma grasped the door knob, about to go back into the halls, when he realized that facing one lone, surprised and unaware Man in White was better than facing 20 heavily built, strong, menacing-looking Men in Black.

Plus, this could be of an advantage to Ryoma.

The corner of Ryoma's lips curled into a slight smile. He inched towards the confused doctor, smiling innocently like a child (his height sure made him seem like one).

"Hello, Doctor. I was wondering if you could help me with something..."

- - -

Minutes later, Ryoma walked out of the room, fully clad in a long white doctor's coat (which was WAY too long for him) and carrying some other doctor stuff (like a stethoscope, a clipboard with patient information on it, and some nerdy-looking glasses). He wished he still had his hat with him, because he just wasn't Ryoma without it, but the kidnappers had taken it.

And so he'd formed a plan.

His plan was intricate and oh so complex. Only a smart guy like him could think of such an elaborate plan. It is as follows:

Avoid all MIB  
Find (his kidnapper)  
Get my hat  
Kill (his kidnapper)  
Leave building

Oh yes. It all sounded so easy in Ryoma's mind. But, in reality, it was not. Multiple flaws in the plan could occur because:

There are probably over hundreds of MIB in the building  
His kidnapper probably had most MIB guarding him/her and so it'd be hard to get to him/her  
The kidnapper probably would not reveal the location of Ryoma's hat anyways. It could be anywhere  
It's hard to decide when it comes to murder. There were so many ways to kill a person...  
The place is on emergency lock down meaning all exits are inaccessible

But Ryoma shrugged off any doubts. He never cared for such matters. If it had not been for the hat, he would've easily found a way out. Heck, he would've jumped out of a window just to get home.

'Cause his Karupin needed feeding, yes indeed...

- - -

Oh, by the way, if you were wondering about that poor doctor Ryoma had encountered earlier, well, let's just say that after refusing to give Ryoma his doctor clothes and items, he's not in the best shape ever.

In fact, let's hope that someone finds him in that room soon. Or else the loss of blood might... oh, never mind.

- - -

Momoshiro had been walking for quite some time already in the long, vast and endless tunnel of darkness. The light never seemed to get any closer or any brighter. He sighed, almost deciding to give up and go back to rot away with his bike.

But suddenly, out of the blue, just when Momo was on the verge of collapsing, a pleasant hum penetrated the silence.

Lifting his head to see what was there, he saw a silhouette of someone, or some_thing_, in the light. It grew larger as it came closer, the hum growing louder and louder with it.

Momo's vision began to blur as the figure in the distance got closer and closer. Momo swayed, having a sudden urge to drink. Water, soda, juice, anything. Momo licked his dry and cracked lips as his eyes fluttered, trying to stay open.

Soon the shadow of the figure was only yards away from him but he couldn't make out who or what it was.

The corners of Momo's mouth twitched into an awkward grin. He staggered on towards the hum, the pleasant hum of some automobile. He knew that where there was an automobile's hum, there must also be a person riding the device.

Before long, the person was right next to him. But Momo, half-conscious with fatigue, couldn't make out who it was. Momo placed a heavy hand on the person's shoulder and grinned foolishly.

"'Sup. You know my bike is back over th ―" With that, Momo's hand slipped from the person's shoulder. Momo fell and crumpled down to the ground.

- - -

"Fshuuuuu... found him delirious over by where he first landed... wasn't in the greatest shape. Idiot..."

"We shouldn't have just left him there in the first place, nya! Why couldn't we just have brought him over?"

"According to my predictions, if Ryuuzaki-sensei's broken-down old car held one more person above 153 pounds, it would break down. Momo is 162.08 pounds..."

"Hey! It's not old..."

"You're right, sensei... it's ancient."

Momo blinked his eyes open to see his fellow Seigaku regulars and his coach hovering above him, arguing and giving him a headache.

But he didn't care. All he wanted was a drink. Now.

He shot his hand out into the air above him and attempted to say something but all that came out was a "wheeeeeeeeze bluchfrudgeschleopfstinsy... cough, croakkk..."

He saw his friends back up in horror. Probably thinking he'd come back from the dead or something. Eiji screamed and pointed at him, shouting:

"MOMO'S A ZOMBIE!! AUGHHH!! HURRY; GET HIM SOME BURGERS BEFORE HE DECIDES TO EAT **_US_**!!!"

He then ran away to cower behind Oishi.

Momo felt a huge urge to laugh but couldn't due to his lack of throat moisture. Instead, he ended up coughing up dry air.

Momo's eyes bulged. "Eghhhhhfluchschipicaghhhhs...wa... wat...whaaaa..."

He tried to say "water" but he was too dehydrated, too water deprived to say anything. His super raspy and croaky voice didn't help much either.

Suddenly, Fuji, all hidden in the darkness of the room, stepped forward with his usual unreadable smile and closed eyes.

"I believe he needs water," he said, chuckling, though Momo hardly found it entertaining at all. The Seigaku tensai just continued to grin as the other Regulars rushed to get water.

Momo tried to smile but instead shivered.

Averting his gaze from the ever so creepy Fuji, he looked at Ryuuzaki-sensei for answers. Where he was, why he was here, why they were all here too, why Ryoma wasn't here, he had so many questions.

Yet Ryuuzaki-sensei just nodded. "After you recover, we'll explain it all," she said.

The others had arrived back with gallons of water. Kaidoh was carrying an open bucket of pure, fresh spring water. While slowly inching it over to Momo's bedside, he accidentally tripped on Inui's foot and tumbled towards to Momo, splashing all the water onto Momoshiro's face and body.

After choking and gulping down the deliciously sweet water, Momo jumped up from his bed and faced Kaidoh, water dripping off his clothes and hair. Though he was thankful for the water, Momo feigned anger.

"WHY YOU LITTLE — I OUGHTA KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!"

"Fshuuuuu, you just try..."

"You did that on PURPOSE, MAMUSHI!"

"No, I tripped. And DON'T call me that!"

"Bring it on, _Mamushi_!"

"Fshuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!!"

The others breathed with relief, satisfied and grateful that Momo was back to normal.

After the good old motherly Oishi broke up the two, the whole team minus Echizen sat at a large circular table with exactly 24 seats in it. Momo took some time to notice his surroundings.

It seemed to him like they were in some sort of secret headquarters underground. At least it looked a lot like the kind of secret base in all the movies Momo's seen. The place was dimly lit with millions of secret passageways, computers, high-tech gadget rooms, test labs, file cabinets, and even the cool kind of interrogation rooms which have windows that are see-through on the outside but black on the inside. _Sweeeeeeeeet_... Momo thought, not even worrying about why he and his tennis team were here at all.

Soon after Eiji had stopped bouncing around and after Inui had stopped "Ii data..."-ing, Ryuuzaki-sensei looked directly at Momo.

She began to speak. "Momoshiro. Welcome to Organization 24. This table we sit at is called the Round Table of 24 and --"

"Wait," Momo interupted. Ryuuzaki-sensei looked annoyed but Momo didn't take notice of this. "What's Organization 24? Are there, like, exactly 24 members in this thing or what? And why does this place look like some sort of secret base underground for like top-secret spy agents or something? And why are all you here but not Ryoma? And ... and how in the world did I survive that fall from before? One look at the height at which I fell from and anyone would've declared me as a goner. Why am I still _alive???_"

Ryuuzaki-sensei sighed. "Just calm down. We'll explain it all in a moment. First, Momo, can we trust you to keep a secret? One kept by all Seigaku junior high tennis team members from way back when until now? Are you ready to be told about our one greatest secret?" Ryuuzaki-sensei murmured at him with the others staring intently at him too, as if forcing him with their eyes to answer.

"Before I say something, can I ask you a question?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded. "Of course."

"Is there anything to eat? I'm starving..."

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**Whaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!! Hoped you liked this third chapter! I didn't put any future stuff in this chapter but I'll definitely have some in the next chapter, I assure you! Happy holidays all! But please review before you all go off to visit relatives or whatever... Thank you!**

**PS - There's a little hint/warning about 24 in my profile. Please look!**


	4. Channel 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis does not belong to me, however much I wish it did.  
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Ryoma received multiple awkward looks from people in the halls. They probably were wondering how a doctor could possibly be so short. But no one stopped to question him. And for that Ryoma was thankful.

Ryoma knew that his kidnapper was somewhere on the 39th floor. He knew that in order to recover his hat, he must get to his kidnapper first, no matter how much he wanted to avoid that idiot. He sighed. _Oh well... _

Being on floor 13 already, all he had to do was take the elevator up 26 floors. _Easy enough,_ thought Ryoma.

He began to make his way to the elevator door, looking at the ground so that no MIB would recognize his face. Man, he wanted his hat more than ever now!

With his doctor's lab coat dragging on the floor behind him and practically sweeping the floor, Ryoma walked closer and closer to the elevator.

Soon he was within feet of the elevator doors when someone else pressed the "up" button.

The doors slid open revealing two MIBs standing guard inside the elevator. Ryoma gulped and moved for the next elevator to the right. He waited for it to arrive.

The doors slid open and also revealed two MIBs standing inside, monitoring the elevator and checking everyone who entered. Ryoma sighed. _Guess this means the emergency stairway..._

He rushed to the entrance to the stairway and pushed it open, cautiously listening for an alarm to go off. When the bustling noise of the floor remained the same, he sighed with relief and disappeared into the stairway.

Too bad he hadn't noticed one particularly bulky and observant MIB watching him intently as he stealthily and suspiciously vanished behind the door.

Too bad he hadn't noticed that one MIB follow him into the stairway.

Too bad, tooooooooooo bad...

- - -

After serving him nine burgers, thirteen boxes of French fries, seventeen bottles of soda and eleven cones of eight different types of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Momoshiro's hunger was finally satisfied and the Seigaku regulars and their coach could finally speak freely with no growling interruptions from Momo's very rude stomach.

"As I was saying before, Momo, can we trust you to keep our ultimate secret?" Ryuuzaki-sensei asked with a slight hint of annoyance in her voice.

Momo burped. "Yep," he groaned while clutching his overgrown stomach.

He needs to go on a diet... Maybe try that daily workout schedule of Kaidoh's... Maybe confront Inui for some dieting advice... Maybe play some Dance Dance Revolution and work off all the fat in him... Maybe shave off his mullet... Not that that has anything to do with his fat...

ANYWAYS, back on topic!

Momoshiro snapped into attention after Tezuka glared at him with that "Fifty-laps-around-the-secret-underground-headquarters" face.

Ryuuzaki-sensei continued. "Alright. First things first, this is the secret H.Q. of Organization 24, as you already know. And not because there are 24 members of our Organization. You see, the number 24 is kind of like... kind of like our Organization's mascot. Everything in this Organization revolves around the number 24. But, we can't show you why right now, we need to get someone first."

Momo sat there blankly, wondering what in the world his sensei was talking about.

"Momo!"

He snapped back into reality. "Yes! Ah, yes, I'm listening, I'm listening..."

Ryuuzaki-sensei eyed him. "Maybe we should tell you this tomorrow..."

"NO!" Momo shouted, jumping up and slamming the table. "I _need_ to know what's going on."

Ryuuzaki copied him. "And _I _need _you _to PAY ATTENTION to TELL you what's going on!"

Both sat back down. Momo nodded politely for her to continue.

"Anyways, as I was saying, we cannot show you right now why the number 24 is so important. First we need to retrieve someone from evil clutches. That someone is Ryoma."

"Wait, WHAT??! WHAT DO YOU MEAN RYOMA'S IN EVIL CLUTCHES??" Momo bellowed, knocking his chair over as he got up. "IS HE IN DIRE TROUBLE? WE GOTTA GO SAVE HIM!"

Ryuuzaki-sensei blew. "STOP INTERRUPTING ME SO MUCH, MOMOSHIRO! ARGHH! ALRIGHT, THAT'S IT!"

She snapped her fingers and instantly Tezuka and Fuji came over to Momo holding duct tape and rope. They began to bind Momo's chest to the chair using the rope.

"Wait... Tezuka-buchou?? What are you doing?? Fuji-senpai?? Wait, stop! Hold it r—"

Fuji stuck a piece of duct tape over Momo's mouth which instantly shut him up. Fuji grinned devilishly and continued to help Tezuka tape Momo's arms and legs to the chair.

Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded was satisfaction as the two finished. Momo sat before her now, quiet at last and annoyed.

"Thank you," she said to Tezuka and Fuji who nodded in return. "Now, Momo. You will listen to me and NOT move OR talk, is that clear? Oh, well, haha, I suppose it is clear, seeing that you can't move or talk anyways! Muahahaha!! Anyways, continuing! Though Ryoma is not in terrible danger, he is still in the hands of bad people so we must rescue him. But before doing so, you must know what we know.

"Ever since junior high tennis teams were created, an odd phenomenon was found amongst the best players from each team. These players had an abnormal ability to SEE THE FUTURE."

As Ryuuzaki-sensei said this, she leaned across the table, so close to Momo's face that he could see every wrinkle on her baggy, old skin. She had her eyes wide and her face looked like some sort of ghost or demon that had their face melted so it drooped down in layers of wrinkles. Descriptive, ne?

Momo blinked a couple of times. Then he burst out laughing. So hard that the duct tape ended up flying off his face. It landed onto Ryuuzaki-sensei's face as well as some of Momo's spit too. Her eyes burst into flame.

"W-wait, you're joking right?" Momo asked in between chuckles.

Ryuuzaki-sensei, her eyes still on fire, shook her head. "No, Momo, I am NOT joking."

She sat back down in her seat as her eyes cooled down. "There _are _tennis players in each junior high tennis team that can read the future. Most are in their second or third year. Ryoma's the first clairvoyant that's a first year."

"C-clairvoy-what? What's that?"

"Clairvoyant. One who can see things that have not yet occurred. AKA a seer. So since most are second or third years, we usually tell everyone about this is their second year. Now so far we only –"

"Wait. Why did you tell _Kaidoh_ before _me_??"

"BECAUSE WE THOUGHT KAIDOH WOULD BE EASIER TO EXPLAIN ALL THIS TO AND WOULD NOT INTERRUPT SO DAMN MUCH! APPARENTLY, WE WERE RIGHT!" Ryuuzaki-sensei shouted.

"Fshuuuuuuuuu..." Kaidoh hissed in agreement.

"Alright, whatever..." Momo said in a huffed tone.

"So, right now Seigaku Gakuen's only clairvoyant is Ryoma. Other teams we know do have seers as well. Some develop them later than others so someone in our team could easily become a seer any day. Are you following me?"

Momo nodded. "Yes..." he mumbled, wondering why Tezuka was not a seer.

Momo suddenly thought of something. "Wait, _how_ exactly do they read the future? Like do they just have flashes of visions or can they see it any time they want?"

"I thought you'd ask," she said. "I told you before; everything revolves around the number 24. That's how they do it. They use the number 24 to conjure up hints of the future."

"..." Momo didn't get it. "I don't get it."

"Well, the best and probably only way for you to understand is to go and retrieve Ryoma first. We'll then teach you _and _him how his powers work; after all, he'd only recently acquired his new powers earlier today."

"Which is why he was acting so weird at school! Ah, I get it. Well, not the whole 24 thing but whatever..."

"In case you were wondering, other junior high teams we've competed against are also a part of Organization 24. For instance, Fudomine, Hyoutei, St. Rudolph, Rikkaidai, Rokkaku, Yamabuki, and Jyousei. They all have one or more seers in their team. But not all of their team members are a part of Organization 24."

"Wait, why?"

"Because Organization 24 is like the good guys in a story. There is another group who are the _bad _guys. They are also composed of junior high tennis team members. They have clairvoyants as well. Those who are evil go to that side. For example, Jin Akutsu is obviously on that side."

"Are these the people that have Ryoma?" Momo questioned.

"Yes. They are always kidnapping newly-found seers and trying to convince them onto their side, the dark side. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Some just are already bad people even before they got their powers so they immediately joined the dark side even without persuasion."

"Lame! Everyone knows the bad guys always lose!" Momo declared. "Hold on, so what's the point of this Organization and the other bad group? Just to get seers to see the future for them??"

"Well," Ryuuzaki-sensei sighed. She hated explaining it every time to newcomers. "Long ago, when junior high tennis teams were first created, there was a prophecy. The prophecy foretold that one day an ultimate treasure will come along. One that is said to bring its owners true happiness and everlasting contentment. Oh, and did I mention indomitable power in tennis? Yes, whoever discovers the ultimate treasure would be unbeatable in tennis! Now, even before the prophecy came along, the teams were already split into good people and evil people because that's just how it is. Seigaku's always been 100 percent good people, though! Naturally, after the prophecy, the good side and the bad side both raced to find the treasure, even though they didn't know what it was or when it would appear.

"The bad side, of course, wants to find and use this treasure for their own selfishness. We, the good side, though, just wish to find it so that it does not end up in the wrong hands. We've been battling out from then, all the way up until the present day, searching for that treasure. Who knows, maybe we'll never see it in our lifetime and maybe we will. But anyways, that is why both sides desperately want as many seers as they can get. People who can read the future can greatly help our search for the ultimate treasure." Ryuuzaki-sensei finished.

Momo sat silently. "I see. Well, alright... um... so what kind of treasure do you expect this is?"

"Well, ever since the prophecy, we've been seeking out valuable items that appear. Jewelry, precious stones, paintings, sculptures, famous artifacts, high-tech gadgets, you know, all that kind of priceless stuff, stuff that's one of a kind."

Momo nodded. "And none has ever been the right one?"

"Nope. None. Our clairvoyants can tell if it's the right one or not."

"Oh..." Momo said. "Well, that sucks."

"Yep..." Ryuuzaki agreed.

A moment of silence passed.

"Say," Momo suddenly said. "Shouldn't we be going to find Ryoma now?"

"Oh, yes, I forgot!" Ryuuzaki-sensei said. Everyone got up.

"By the way," Momo said. "What's the other group called? You know, we're Organization 24 so what are they?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei turned to him with a deathly grin. "If I tell you, I'd have to kill you! Muahahahaha!!!! Whatever, I'll tell you anyways. It's Corporation 24."

"Lame..." Momo said.

With that, the whole Seigaku team minus Ryoma left to rescue their missing first year.

- - -

Ryoma eventually had to dispose of his cool and stylish doctor's coat. It was too much of a nuisance to keep tripping over every five steps.

You'd think that for someone who's moving at 5 steps per minute he'd notice that a MIB was following behind him. But he didn't notice. Smooth move, Ryoma, smoooooth move.

After getting rid of the much-too-long coat, he raced up the stairs at his normal speed. Soon he was able to reach the door to level 39. Right when he was about to open the door, something hit him hard on the back of his head.

_Not again_... Ryoma moaned in his mind.

As Ryoma crumpled to the ground, he saw a blurry black figure hovering above him.

Just as the figure kneeled down to pick up Ryoma's body, Ryoma blacked out.

- - -

"— and he should be kept in that locked chamber underground, do you understand me Sakaki-sensei?"

"Of course... Though, need I remind you that I'm not your servant?"

"Oh yes, yes, I know you're not. It's just that I'd rather you do the dirty work than me."

The person who was probably Sakaki grumbled.

Ryoma blinked. His head throbbed once again. He felt like he was hit with a ten ton tennis ball.

"Oh my, Kabaji, he's up! Good job, by the way, for finding him. Apparently our sensei here could not keep him under control."

Ryoma was lying down on a bench with a huge, lumbering figure next to him. Ryoma sat up immediately and rubbed his eyes.

Sitting besides him was Kabaji dressed like a MIB and staring at him. Across the room Sakaki, the Hyoutei coach was holding a paper bag in his hands. He was standing before another person sitting at a desk.

The swiveling chair turned and revealed the person sitting at the desk.

Atobe Keigo.

"My my, looks like Kabaji made up for your mistake, sensei."

Ryoma knew the Sakaki was his kidnapper. After all, this was the exact scenery he had seen in the vision in the elevator. Ryoma glared from Atobe to Sakaki back to Atobe. He hated them both. Kabaji he could stand. At least all Kabaji said was "Usu".

Atobe smirked at Ryoma. "So, Echizen-kun. Would you like to know why you're here?"

"No."

Atobe then did that annoying habit of his. He held up his hand in front of his face and looked all important. "Well, you can't leave so might as well know."

"And _why_ can't I leave?"

"Because no one knows you're here. No one _cares_ that you're gone! And you couldn't escape us if u tried! I have the best security in all of Japan! This building is owned by my father and no one can enter or exit without permission! Hah, I bet no one's even noticed you're missing. Let's check the news, shall we?"

Ryoma rolled his eyes as Atobe snapped his fingers. Instantly, a huge 80-inch plasma TV descended from a hole in the ceiling. One of Atobe's minions had the remote in his hands and turned on the television. The TV instantly showed the channel that it was last on before it had been turned off.

Channel 50. Disney Channel.

Atobe clapped his hands together and sighed. "Ah... I just _love _this channel! But change to a different channel, a news channel."

The minion nodded and began to push the "down channel" button on the remote. The screen clicked from a reality show to a police and crime show to an only-advertisement channel.

Suddenly, as the minion clicked the button again, the TV arrived at Channel 24 which was, ironically, playing the show "24"!!!!!

Suddenly, everything and everyone in the room froze again. Jack Bauer on the TV froze as well. Ryoma blinked.

He watched as Jack Bauer from the show "24" disappeared, leaving the plasma TV screen blank and empty. Just as Ryoma was about to lose interest and go to sleep again, something else popped up onto the screen.

Ryoma's eyes opened wide and his jaw dropped to the ground. He drooled at the television like some fat old couch potato who saw some juicy steak advertisement on TV.

But it was not some juicy steak advertisement Ryoma was drooling at. No, no, he was drooling at a priceless statue of a Greek god.

Well, he wasn't really drooling at the statue but rather what the statue was wearing.

On top of the Greek god Athena's head was a hat.

Ryoma's priceless hat. OMG.

Ryoma was disappointed to see his precious cap be replaced by Jack Bauer again when time unfroze. He was even more disappointed to find that everyone surrounding him had unfrozen as well.

But he was not worried. He never did care for such matters.

He _did _worry about his hat, though. And, of course, Karupin.

And so, with this in mind, he was more determined than ever to escape these Hyoutei idiots and retrieve his hat. Go Ryoma!!

* * *

**A/N: I am SOOOOOOOOOO sorry if my explanation of the whole Organization 24 thing is confusing or bad. Since it makes so much sense to me, I can't tell if this makes much sense to the readers . Please tell me if you don't understand it and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE read and review!! Advice would be great, too!**

**PS: Oh yeah, and sorry about the lame channel idea TT .. I couldn't think of that many ways to read the future using 24 . !!**


	5. Warehouse 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: PoT and its characters don't belong to me. But me does belong to me. MUAHAHAHHAA. **

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_

Atobe raised his hand up in front of his face again. He looked grave and somber. "Alas... Ore-sama stands corrected."

Ryoma shook his head. "Mada mada dane."

Atobe had predicted incorrectly. The news channel DID have an amber alert on a missing child named Echizen Ryoma. Hah, beat that, Atobe.

Echizen found it just as odd that he was on the news. Surely Oyaji did not tell the police that he was missing, he wouldn't have cared... He then realized that it was a possibility Rinko or Nanako had called them instead.

Yet he didn't care, he had to get to that Athena statue and retrieve his hat!

It didn't look good on Athena anyways.

- - -

Since Ryuuzaki-sensei's car obviously could not hold more than four people, they ended up borrowing one of the Organization's limos.

Momo began to wonder. "Ryuuzaki-sensei? How are we supposed to _find _Echizen? We don't know where he is."

Ryuuzaki-sensei pondered over the wisdom in his words. "Indeed..."

The silence crept into the limo like a mouse on tiptoes.

Eiji broke the mouse. "So? How are we gonna find Ochibi then?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei just sighed. "We know many places where Corporation 24 meets. Yet we have no idea which one Echizen is being held at. I suppose we'll have to check each one."

Silence again.

"But...," Taka began. "But... that will take... forever..."

Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded knowingly. "It will. We'll just have to hope that we get lucky."

"Where's Sengoku when you need him...," muttered Momo.

- - -

"Ore-sama got bored of Ryoma for two reasons.

One, Ryoma was too stubborn to admit that he had any sort of powers at all. And he had refused (just picture him going "Yadda yadda!") to join Atobe's side, whatever side it was.

Two, Ryoma was getting on Atobe's nerves. The short prodigy did not appreciate Atobe's brilliance, or Atobe's presence, for that matter.

"Quelle horreur!" Atobe gasped in French after Ryoma told him to shut up.

With that, "Ore-sama" walked out of the room, defiantly, in great shame. Ryoma didn't notice much.

Ryoma felt like his head was naked without his beloved hat. He _needed_ it back!

"Kabaji-kun, could I have the remote?" Ryoma asked.

"Usu," Kabaji said. He agreed so willingly to a prisoner because Ryoma's tone was oh so persuading and intimidating. Actually, it was just because Kabaji's a very obedient person, no matter the person he's obeying...

Ryoma thanked Kabaji. He clicked the remote back to channel 24. To his great dismay, nothing happened. Well, Jack Bauer blew up his brother, Graem, but other than that, nothing happened.

Kabaji stared blankly at the TV screen, most likely memorizing Jack Bauer's moves so that he can copy them later. If he can get his hands on a gun and a suitcase nuke, that is...

Anyways, Ryoma was disappointed. He'd hoped to find more hints on channel 24 but apparently, there were no hints. He would have to find the Athena statue himself.

But first, to escape Kabaji and the guards...

- - -

"Alright everyone! We've already checked the bar downtown owned by Kirihara's family, the secret tree house in Atsushi and Ryou's backyard, Oshitari's house, and four of Atobe's many mansions." Ryuuzaki-sensei declared to the worn-out Seigaku regulars.

"Maybe we should just call for a seer, sensei," Inui said. "Data proves that that would be much faster than searching _every single possible_ meeting place they have."

Ryuuzaki-sensei shook her head. "Absolutely not."

"Why not," whined Eiji, positively beat from all that barging through doors and "HANDS UP" stuff.

"Because I don't have my cell phone with me to call them."

The Seigaku regulars sighed.

"Come on, how hard could it be! Seigaku, fight-oh! Alright, next, we'll check Mizuki's warehouse!" Ryuuzaki-sensei said, triumphantly. The others sighed again.

- - -

"Kabaji-kun? Could I have a glass of lemonade?"

"Usu."

"Kabaji-kun? Could I have a foot rest?"

"Usu."

"Kabaji-kun? Could I have a Gameboy?"

"Usu."

Ryoma quickly found out that Kabaji would obediently do anything Ryoma asked. Well, anything possible. Kabaji couldn't get Ryoma a teenage mutant ninja turtle, for example.

Ryoma thought for a while. "Kabaji-kun? Could you let me out?"

Kabaji stood still and silent.

"So?" Ryoma questioned. If Kabaji said no, he'd find his own way out easily. He was just wondering if this would work.

Without a word, Kabaji-kun used some martial arts tactics on the guards by the door. No doubt he'd copied these moves from someone on, like, TV or something.

Ryoma sat with his lemonade, foot rest, and Gameboy, watching the show. When all the guards were out cold, Ryoma got up as Kabaji opened the door to check if the coast was clear.

Kabaji nodded as signal for Ryoma to leave. Ryoma turned to him.

"Thanks, Kabaji-kun. I owe you one," he said with the utmost gratitude.

Kabaji just nodded again, pushed Ryoma out the door, and shut it quickly and quietly.

Ryoma hurried to the elevators, wondering if there were still MIB there. There shouldn't be since they've already caught him.

Fortunately, the elevators were MIB-less. Ryoma entered and stood there for a minute.

_Where am I going anyways?..._ he thought to himself. He then decided to go to the information booth on the first floor.

The elevator arrived at the first floor and the doors swung open. Ryoma was about to exit when he saw a distant person in the crowd near the information booth. Immediately, Ryoma jumped behind a tropical plant display.

_Why's Atobe down here?_ Ryoma thought. _I can't go near the information booth with him around... He'd know I got out! And if I got caught again, that'd just mean more time away from my precious hat and Karupin..._

Ryoma suddenly saw a group of tourists pass him by and head towards the elevator.

A light bulb dinged above his head.

- - -

The doors to the Warehouse 24 (you see? 24 always turns up somewhere, like magic!) creaked open. The Seigaku members shuffled in quietly behind their coach.

"You'd think that a warehouse would be empty...," muttered Momo.

The warehouse was not empty. Instead, it had stacks and stacks of stuff. Random stuff. From hay to pencils to toilet paper to broken PS2s, almost every product imaginable was somewhere in the warehouse.

The stuff was all stacked together, forming walls of some sort. The walls of stuff formed a maze of some sort.

"There is a 13 percent chance that we well get through this maze and a 2 percent chance that we'll find the evil people and Ryoma at the end," Inui declared knowingly.

"Then we'll have to take that chance!" Ryuuzaki-sensei announced. With that, she began to strut into the maze.

"Wait!" Everyone turned to the speaker, Fuji, who had been silent the whole time.

"We should probably leave something behind so that we won't lose our tracks." Fuji's eyes flashed open for a second. Then they shut back to normal.

"Just in case, you know," Fuji said with that disturbing grin of his.

Everyone shuddered but agreed. Taka took a super large bag of Doritos from the wall of stuff and volunteered to drop pieces behind their steps as they went.

"How very kind of you to volunteer, Taka-san," Fuji said with his horseshoe eyes and uncanny smile. Taka just nodded uneasily with a forced smile and hurriedly ran to the back of the group, away from Fuji.

They began to make their way into the maze, everyone arguing every now and then about which turn to take.

After 20 minutes, Momo and Eiji self-declared the group lost. Even Tezuka agreed. They decided to give up and turn back.

Yet when they turned around, the Doritos were gone.

"I – I don't understand! I am _sure _I dropped them behind us! Look, the bag's even more than half empty!" Taka-san stuttered.

"Are you absolutely _sure_, Taka-san??" Eiji interrogated.

Fuji's eyes opened and his blue orbs bored into Eiji. "**Don't blame Taka-san. Or else.**" Eiji ran behind Oishi whimpering.

"Fshuuu, I bet Momo went hungry and ate them all when we weren't looking!" Kaidoh hissed.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAMUSHI!!! I would never do that, you idiot!!" Momo hollered, lunging at the bandanna-boy.

The whole gang started arguing about the Doritos. Pfft. Amateurs.

Suddenly, a cloud of bluish-green smoke clouded the air and blocked off everyone's vision. After coughing and waving the smoke away, a person could be seen in front of the group.

"LUCKYYYYYY!!!"

- - -

Ryoma, dressed up as a tourist from Hawaii or Jamaica, started to walk towards the information booth. He was pissed that he had to wear this Hawaiian sunhat. He felt like he was cheating on his beloved cap. But there was no choice; he _had _to wear it to save his cap.

Atobe was standing by the booth, consulting with a guide of the building and using his cell phone.

Ryoma stealthily headed to the other side of the information booth, avoiding the grey-haired Ore-sama.

Ryoma quickly grabbed his own guide to the building. Then he used his almighty split steps to get as far away from Atobe as possible. Show off...

Hiding behind another gigantic tropical plant display, Ryoma opened the guide and checked the name of each floor.

_Floor 6: Law Management_

_Floor 13: Medical Hospital for the Physically Ill_

_Floor 23: Medical Hospital for the Mentally Ill_

_Floor 39: Private Atobe Residence_

_Floor 45: The Dinosaur Era (Tourist Exhibit of Fossilized Dinosaurs)_

_Floor 53: Grand Suites for the Rich_

_Floor 56: Greek Mythology: Out of this World_

Ryoma's eyes landed on Floor 56. _Aha!_ _That must be where Athena is!_ He said. He jumped up and bolted to an empty elevator.

He looked all over for button 56 but there was none.

Then he remembered that this building only had 55 floors...

_Ahhhhh... How is there a 56th floor when there are only 55 floors??_ Ryoma moaned inside his head. _Gotta find that floor! Gotta – find – my – cap!_

He ran back out of the elevator all the way to the information booth, disregarding Atobe completely.

He took the collar of the attendant at the information booth and lifted the attendant off his feet, slamming him up against the wall of the booth.

"How – do – I – get – to – floor – fifty – six?" Ryoma hissed threateningly at the attendant, enunciating each syllable by slamming the person against the wall again and again.

The attendant looked confused (and in pain). "I – I don't know what you mean, sir? You can just take the elevator to floor 56!"

Ryoma punched the guy. Poor attendant. He should've gone on the next shift to avoid this pain.

"What do you mean 'just take the elevator'?! That elevator has 55 buttons!!!" Ryoma hollered.

"It – It does??" the attendant dude stuttered. He was truly bewildered (and in pain).

Ryoma lifted the guy from behind his counter and shoved him towards the elevator. It was truly a funny sight to see a midget lift a full-grown man three feet off the ground.

Ryoma brought the guy to the elevator and pushed the attendant's head towards the buttons. "See??!! FIFTY – FIVE – BUTTONS!"

The attendant stroked an imaginary beard. He was utterly perplexed (and in pain).

Then, the attendant guy reached out and wiped the button below all the others with his shirt. The button had said "ALARM IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" but after the attendant had wiped it, it read "56".

"Some foolish kid must have vandalized and disguised the button as an emergency button..." muttered the information booth attendant. "Sorry for the inconvenience!"

Ryoma blinked. "Mada mada dane...," he muttered and threw the attendant out the elevator. Not caring whether the attendant had broken some bones or not, Ryoma just pushed button 56 quickly, determined to find his hat as soon as possible.

The attendant guy lay on the cold, hard, marble floor, absolutely baffled. AND UNQUESTIONABLY IN EXCRUCIATING PAIN.

Good thing this building was one-fourth hospital...

* * *

**A/N: SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY for the delay!!! It's been almost a month! Was kind of busy I suppose. Hehe, my excuse! I shall try my best to update faster! And for Hunt, too! I hope.. T.T**

**Wahhhhh, I wonder if I should make chapters longer... Might take longer to update but still! Hehe, well, if you have an opinion, please review and tell me :D!!**

**Oh, and thank you Darth Claire-san for pointing out the percent stuff :O!!! I shall remember that from now on :)!**

**PLEASE READ "HUNT" IF YOU HAVE TIME! It's not getting much publicity T.T sniff sniff... I actually had higher hopes for Hunt than 24 XD! Guess I was wrong:D 24's awesome though!**


	6. Maze 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: PoT and its characters don't belong to me. But me does belong to me. MUAHAHAHHAA. **

_**

* * *

**_

_Ahhhhh!_ Ryoma shouted in his head. _Why's this damn elevator so slow!_

Ding! Floor 44... Ding! Floor 45... Ding! Floor 46...

_Ding! Floor 56 already, damn it!_ Finally, the doors slid open to reveal Level 56. It arrived not a second too soon either because one more millisecond and Ryoma would've punched a hole into the elevator wall.

Anyways, Ryoma dashed out of the elevator and faced a huge entrance to a tourist attraction museum called _Greek Mythology: Out of this World_. Beyond the entrance gates was a maze of halls and exhibitions of Greek gods, goddesses, heroes, creatures, monsters, myths, and other things.

_Since she's the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena shouldn't be too hard to find_, Ryoma said to himself. Oh, how wrong he was.

One would expect the gods and goddesses in one hall or room, the mortal heroes in another, and the monsters or myth creatures in another, right? Well, the smart Atobes who built this museum of Greek mythology on Floor 56 weren't smart at all... The halls and exhibits weren't grouped in any specific way at all!

In one hall, Ryoma found Prometheus, Artemis, the Chimera, and Atalanta. In another, Ryoma found Hermes, Narcissis, Theseus, and Nausicaa. Ryoma sprinted up and down the halls and rooms, checking each one by one for the marble statue labeled _Athena_.

Finally, after some time of tenuous searching, Ryoma found the famous Greek goddess of wisdom. Even with _his _endurance, he was huffing and puffing. Who knew there were so many characters or creatures in Greek mythology?!

After catching his breath, he looked up and saw that Athena did indeed have his DEAR, PRECIOUS, AND BELOVED hat. Swiping it quickly off of Athena's filthy and unworthy marble head, he planted fifty gazillion kisses on it before placing it coolly on his own head, where it belonged. He wiped away his tears of joy before turning to head back down the extremely slow elevator.

- - -

"LUCKYYYYYY!!!"

After hearing that one word, everyone immediately knew who was speaking.

"Perfect! Now that Sengoku's here, we can finally find Ryoma!" Ryuuzaki-sensei declared victoriously.

Everyone else agreed happily while Momo and Kaidoh stood there looking confused. "What do you mean by that?" Momo questioned. "How's _he_ supposed to help us??"

Sengoku's grinning face emerged as the bluish-green smoke disappeared. "I shall save you all from this horrendous maze!" he announced. He had on a huge backpack that hikers would use to store stuff as they hiked Mt. Everest.

Kaidoh looked apprehensive. "Fshuuuuu..."

Inui nodded. "Since you two," he said to Momo and Kaidoh, "are second-years and are fairly new to this Organization, you don't know who the seers are yet."

Momo blinked. "Oh no... You've _got_ to be kidding me..."

"I am not," Inui said. "Sengoku-san here is a clairvoyant from Yamabuki." Sengoku grinned devilishly.

"What??!!" Momo exclaimed. "I thought only _good_ tennis players were seers!!!"

Sengoku looked offended. "I _am_ good!"

"But I beat you!" Momo shouted.

"I've gotten much better since then!"

"Oh really! Let's test that theory!"

"Bring it!"

"Shut up!" Ryuuzaki-sensei yelled at them before they could get some rackets and balls out of Sengoku's backpack. "Sengoku's probably only a seer because it was either him or Akutsu for Yamabuki! Whoever gives out these powers to tennis players obviously knows better than to give Jin Akutsu future-reading powers! So that only leaves Sengoku here to be the Yamabuki seer."

Everyone nodded at the logic of this except for Sengoku, who was whining that he was a seer because he wasgenuinely good at tennis. Deep down, though, he knew Ryuuzaki-sensei was right.

Momo was hesitant. "Even _if_ he's a seer, how's he supposed to help us? _See _the way out?" Momo asked.

Sengoku look triumphant and began to rummage through his ten-ton backpack. While he was doing so, Ryuuzaki-sensei cleared her throat and started to explain.

"See, this is where the mind-boggling-ness of it all kicks in. Okay... so, if he can't show us the end of the maze successfully, it's because in the future we won't find the end. But, if Sengoku here IS able to successfully show us the end of the maze, then we WILL find the end of the maze because our future IS to find the end. So since our future IS to find the end, then Sengoku CAN show us our future and show us the end so that we can fulfill our future destiny of finding the end. Get it?"

"No... That's confusing... I don't get it," Momo declared.

"We didn't expect you to," Ryuuzaki-sensei stated. Momo scowled.

"Fshuuuuuu... I get it..." Kaidoh muttered.

Inui nodded. "We _did_ expect _you_ to."

Kaidoh hissed triumphantly at Momo and Momo tackled him down.

"So, anyways, how's it going, Sengoku?" Ryuuzaki-sensei asked Sengoku, who was still rummaging through his ten-ton backpack. Sengoku finally took his hands out of his backpack.

Sengoku grinned. He held up a little booklet titled Amazing Mazes for Amazing Mages. It was the kind of little book that had a maze on every page for the person to fill in.

The two Seigaku regulars were confused but all the others nodded to Sengoku.

With that, Sengoku began to rip out pages of the maze book. He ripped a page out, placed it on the ground in front of him, then turned on his spot and placed another right next to the first. He continued to do this until 24 little ripped-out pages from the maze book were laid out around him in a circle.

Sengoku kneeled down in the middle of the circle. He closed his eyes and his whole body froze still.

Minutes passed.

Momo opened his mouth to complain but Ryuuzaki-sensei clamped her hand over his mouth to shut him up. Kaidoh had a strong urge to hiss.

Finally, Sengoku moved. He reached out his hand. He touched the first maze sheet in front of him. Then he shifted to his right a little, touching the next. He continued to shift in his confined little circle, touching each maze sheet until he had almost rotated a complete 360 degrees. He'd touched 23 mazes.

Sengoku's hand hovered over the 24th maze, finally gently resting itself on the paper.

Then Sengoku's eyes shot open.

From what the others could tell, his eyes had gone a sort of grayish-silver, making him seem like he was physically still in this world but mentally off somewhere else. The newest members of the gang, Momo and Kaidoh, held their breaths, for they feared that if they gasped aloud, they'd mess up the whole future-reading ritual thing going on.

Sengoku could still see the paper maze before him. Well, technically the same exact maze.

The maze was changing. The bold black ink walls of the maze were morphing, switching around until they finally stopped in their spots.

From Sengoku's eyes, the maze was a completely new one. It had more complicated twists and turns and many more dead ends. The start had shifted from the bottom left hand corner to the bottom right hand corner. The finish was now at the top right hand corner rather than the top left.

A red star suddenly materialized in the maze, somewhere around the top left hand corner. Sengoku didn't have to be an Inui to realize that that marker where the gang currently was at the moment.

From the star, a bold red line extended and began to weave its way through the maze. After right turns here, left turns there, and fake spiral ends here and there, the red line finally passed the finish and stopped.

A wind whooshed and blew away all the maze papers around Sengoku, save the 24th one.

Sengoku, with his eyes still a mesmerizing shade of gray and silver, got up with the maze in hand and began to glide swiftly down the maze, not bothering to call the others. Immediately, the seniors followed, understanding that he was showing them the way. Momo and Kaidoh just followed their senpais.

With Sengoku consulting with the maze map every now and then, the group found their way through the maze. After what seemed like hours, the gang finally ended up at the finish, which was just a large door the said FINISH on it.

Sengoku's eyelids flickered and those who were watching would've seen that his eyes had changed back to its normal color.

The orange-haired Yamabuki regular dropped onto all fours, breathing heavily. Momo and Kaidoh looked at him oddly.

"What's wrong with you?" Momo asked.

Inui replied when Sengoku didn't answer. "Future-reading drains their energy. That reading that Sengoku just performed was a long one. Even with a tennis player's stamina, a reading that long is bound to make a seer tired afterwards."

"Oh," said Momo.

Everyone then just went through the finish door and out into the daylight again, ignoring the helpless Sengoku completely.

"G - Guys! Wheeeeeze... Wait - for - me!" Sengoku attempted to call out. Wait came out of his mouth was more like the sound of a dying artichoke. Ha, get it? Arti-CHOKE. Whatever.

Fortunately, the good old Golden Pair came back and dragged Sengoku along.

- - -

"Mah, Nanako-chan, I just realized. Where's Ryoma?" Nanjiroh suddenly brought up.

Nanako shook her head at her uncle's stupidity. "Go watch the news..."

- - -

The doors of the elevator swing open with a ding.

"Ah, Ryoma-kun, how lucky of me to run into you!"

Ryoma looked up. He groaned.

- - -

Karupin's POV:

Where... is my giant? Who... is going to feed me? How... does my stomach have a voice? Why... is it growling at me?

End Karupin's POV.

- - -

With the kind-hearted Golden Pair heartily dragging Sengoku along with them, the gang walked mindlessly around, just trying to get as far away from the warehouse as possible.

Momo was stuffing himself with a bag of Doritos he'd stolen from the maze. "So, Ryuuzaki-sensei," he said with his mouth full. "How exactly did Sengoku just lead us out of there? I mean, he was staring at the little maze on the paper like it was a map but it didn't change or anything."

Ryuuzaki-sensei looked disapprovingly at Momo. "Stop talking with your mouth full. Anyways, you see, when a seer sees the future, it's only the seer that can see it. Obviously, the maze Sengoku was holding changed into a map of the warehouse maze, showing the way out, but only Sengoku could see the change. After all, if we all could see it, then seers wouldn't be all that special, right?"

Momo just kept on eating his Doritos.

"So what do we do now, Ryuuzaki-sensei?" Oishi asked as he hauled Sengoku along with Eiji's help.

Ryuuzaki-sensei halted and turned to face Sengoku. "Sengoku, can you still read?"

Sengoku wheezed out a yes. Inui stated a no. Everyone agreed with Inui.

Ryuuzaki-sensei sighed. "Well, I'd planned on Sengoku helping us... But I suppose he can't in his condition. We will either have to search every one of the Corporation's meeting places OR steal Sengoku's cellphone and call over another seer."

The vote was unanimous. I wonder what option they chose.

- - -

Some distances away, a cell phone rang.

Shishido flipped open his cell and answered. "Shishido."

"Shishido! Ah, good. This is Ryuuzaki-sensei, the coach from Seigaku. Yes, well, you see, we are on a mission for the Organization and we need a seer's help."

Shishido grunted. "Go get Tachibana."

"Ah, well, we tried calling his cell phone but he didn't pick up."

Shishido moaned. "Then go get Sengoku!"

"I'm afraid he already came to our aid earlier and is unable to perform any more readings in his current condition at the moment."

Shishido twitched. "Go get Takahisa!!!"

"We don't feel like it."

Shishido started screaming into the phone. "FINE! I'LL GO, HAPPY??!!!"

With that, he hung up the phone. And then he realized something.

He was in the library.

He tried to avoid people's glares. The librarians all looked like they wanted to murder him at the spot. Smart, Shishido.

His phone rang again. Everyone in the library turned and glared at him again. He sighed and left the library before picking up the phone.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT NOW??!! I SAID I'D GO!" he hollered, clearly impatient.

Silence.

"You hung up before we could tell you our location."

Shishido smacked himself in the forehead.

- - -

Ryuuzaki-sensei hung up Sengoku's cell phone. "Shishido's coming."

Everyone looked apprehensive. "Shishido?"

"Shishido."

"Shishido..."

"Burgers...," muttered Momo, whose stomach was growling as loud as Karupin's.

"That's all you ever think about...," Fuji muttered darkly. Thankfully, Momo didn't hear.

A familiar figure suddenly came into view. Everyone turned to unenthusiastically greet Shishido, who greeted everyone back just as unenthusiastically. Sengoku, on the other hand, had a right to greet Shishido unenthusiastically since he was so close to death.

"Shishidoooooo. Welcome," Ryuuzaki-sensei said. "Now, let me explain to you our situation."

Ryuuzaki-sensei told Shishido about Ryoma being the newest clairvoyant. She told him about the Corporation getting a hold of Ryoma and about how they must go to save him. She told him that they'd already checked eight of many meeting places that the Corporation owns. She told him about Sengoku and Warehouse 24. She told him everything else that I failed to mention in this paragraph.

By the time Ryuuzaki-sensei finished telling him what she needed to tell him, Shishido was almost asleep. Ryuuzaki-sensei slapped him silly until he was fully awake again.

"So you understand your task at hand?" she asked him. Shishido looked up at her with two swollen cheeks. His mouth looked like that of a fish's, squished up between the two swollen cheeks.

"Yesh... I undershtand," he muttered, eager to finish the reading and get away from this psycho lunatic of a coach.

* * *

**A/N: I'M SUCH A BAD PERSON!! Sorry for not updating for SOOOO LONG! It's been like a month and 10 days!! Gomen!!!! I'm such a lazy bum. Procrastinator. Couchpotato. Hahahaaa.**

**Whoooops, seems like a lot of you readers do not like Shishido becoming a seer XD!! Sorry! I think that was my own opinion kicking in. Haha, yeah, I like Shishido a lot!! And I think he's awesome at tennis, though others disagree. Haha, well, I'm sorry!!!!! I can't change it now. If you really disagree with my chooses for seers, then please, be my guest and contact me! Tell me who you'd like as a seer and I'll see if I can make him one! See, I've already got most of the characters planned out... Who's on the Organization's side, who's on the Corporation's side, who's a seer and who's not. But please, if you have any comments, questions, complaints, or suggestions -- contact me!!!**

**Anyways, thanks you soo much for those who actually decide to spend 35 seconds of their time to reviewing this!!! Arigatou!!**

**I always say that I'll try and update sooner. This time, I shall KEEP THAT PROMISE. YOSH! And I will start by going to update Hunt! Yay!**

**PLEASE READ "HUNT" IF YOU HAVE TIME! It's not getting much publicity T.T sniff sniff... I actually had higher hopes for Hunt than 24 XD! Guess I was wrong :D 24's awesome though!**


	7. Postcard 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and its characters do not belong to me.****  
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Ryoma was brought back into Atobe's room.

If Kabaji was capable of rolling his eyes, he would have. In his head, he was annoyed that Ryoma was dumb enough to be caught AGAIN. On the outside, though, Kabaji showed no emotion. Obviously.

"Echizen-kun, Echizen-kun, Echizen-kun... You should never have underestimated me," Atobe smirked, putting his hand up in front of his face in that annoyingly stupid pose.

Echizen merely grinned his face off, not listening to Atobe at all, but rather still rejoicing over the fact that he got his hat back. Atobe didn't notice.

"Kabaji, Kabaji, Kabaji... You should never have disobeyed me," Atobe sighed at Kabaji. Kabaji face was unreadable as always. Atobe sighed dramatically again.

"Anyways, Echizen-kun. Have you decided to join us yet?" Atobe asked while gazing at himself in his portable mirror.

Ryoma fidgeted with his hat. "No."

Atobe looked displeased but tried to hide it. "We need you on our side, you know. You and your powers."

"What side? What powers?" Ryoma stubbornly asked, not admitting that he had powers.

"You must have noticed by now! Your future-reading powers, of course!" Atobe spoke, getting impatient with the short little brat.

Ryoma blinked. "No."

Atobe twitched. This kid is really good at making him twitch. "Just join us."

"No."

"Then have you decided to join the other side?"

"No."

"Which side are you joining then?!"

"No."

"THAT WASN'T A YES OR NO QUESTION!" Atobe shouted, infuriated.

Then, he sat back down, embarrassed with his impolite behavior. "Excuse me," he muttered, coughing.

"You're excused," Ryoma nodded.

Atobe twitched some more. "So, which side are you joining??"

"What sides??? You're annoying. Shut up."

Atobe flinched at the insult. "No one speaks to Ore-sama like that! Be in awe of Ore-sama's beauty and magnificence!"

"No."

Atobe sighed. "So you don't know the two sides?"

"No."

"Oh, right, of course! You're a first-year! That's why... Ah, now that makes sense!"

Ryoma wasn't paying attention. _Karupin_... he thought to himself. His expression looked like he was about to cry from missing his cat so much.

Atobe noticed this was utterly creeped out. He wasn't used to Ryoma showing emotions other than indifference.

"Well," Atobe said, feeling uncomfortable being in the same room as this weird kid for more than five minutes, "I have work to attend to. It's obvious that you don't know the basics about 24 yet so... Well, we'll explain it all later. Now, Ore-sama bids you farewell."

This time, Atobe was clever enough to leave seven MIBs inside the room along with Kabaji and eight more MIBs outside, standing guard at the door. This way, Ryoma would never escape!

And this time, Kabaji was clever enough not to help Ryoma at all, realizing that the kid didn't care much for freedom but rather his hat.

Ryoma was sitting there quietly, pondering about how he could get back to Karupin...

- - -

Shishido glared as Ryuuzaki-sensei told him the plan. He did not like wasting time. No, he did not. Neither did he like that Ryoma. No, he did not. Neither did he like his powers. Actually... he did. They can be very helpful sometimes.

Anyways, Ryuuzaki-sensei told him what he needed to find out. He had to find out where Ryoma was being held captive. Now, he could do this in several ways. He could see them in the future, entering the building where Ryoma is. He could see Ryoma in the future, being held captive in the building. He could see the Corporation in the future in the building where they were holding Ryoma captive. Etc., etc., etc...

Shishido nodded exasperatingly when Ryuuzaki-sensei was finished lecturing him on how to use his powers. After all, he was quite new to this as well.

"Don't forget to focus a lot on the building or location where Ryoma is. That's what we need to know," Ryuuzaki-sensei called as Shishido went to set up his stuff.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...," he mumbled.

"Yudan sezu ni Ikou," Tezuka says. One of the few things he ever says.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever...," Shishido mumbled again.

From Sengoku's backpack, Shishido gathered 24 postcards of famous buildings or monuments like the Empire State Building, the Eiffel Tower, the White House, the Capitol, etc. He set them in a circle around him, like Sengoku had with the mazes, with the pictures facing up and the writing side facing down.

Shishido kneeled in the middle and placed a pencil beside him. He was about to start when he glared at the others.

They remembered that he did not feel comfortable being watched during his readings. They all turned; Eiji twisted Momo and Kaidoh around since they didn't know.

Shishido cleared his throat and then commenced with the reading. He closed his eyes and focused his mind on finding where the Corporation was hiding Ryoma. He was still for some time.

Then, with his eyes still closed, he did like Sengoku, first placing his hand out and touching the first postcard. He rotated, touching each card until he'd come a full 345 degrees. Then, his hand hovered above the 24th and final postcard, which happened to have a picture of the cathedral of Notre Dame.

Finally, he touched the 24th postcard and his eyes shot open. Like Sengoku, his eyes were grayish-silver as well and had a dull tint that made him seem like his spirit left his body.

Shishido slowly reached out, robotically, and grabbed the postcard with both hands. Moving his arms in a slightly jerking, ungraceful manner, he began to fold the postcard. He raised the sides so that the writing side of the postcard was on the outside of his creation and the picture of Notre Dame on the inside, hidden from view. His creation looked like an origami building.

While he stared (still in his trance) at his building, Shishido suddenly saw something in his mind. The building turned solid and authentic, an exact replica of the real building that Ryoma was being held in.

Shishido's mind looked in the windows of the 39th floor. The windows were large and vast and Shishido could easily see inside them. Inside, Shishido saw Ryoma (who looked oddly disturbed) watching the news channel. He also spotted eight men in black, one of which he recognized as Kabaji.

Then, his mind retreated from the window and zoomed out. In doing so, Shishido spotted the name of the building in big purple letters.

Then, Shishido shuddered and the life came back into his eyes. He dropped the origami building postcard and started gasping for air. The others turned, knowing that was the signal for a finished reading.

"Fshuuu... you did _origami_...," Kaidoh muttered.

"What did you find?" Ryuuzaki-sensei asked as Oishi rushed to help Shishido up.

"Give me the pencil...," Shishido mumbled and forced himself not to look weak in front of everyone else.

Taka handed him the pencil, which Shishido fumbled with until he got a good grip on it. Then, he began to write something on his postcard building.

When he was finished, he handed the building to Ryuuzaki-sensei and then crumpled onto the ground next to the unconscious Sengoku. Man, being a seer is dangerous!

Ryuuzaki-sensei read the scrawled writing aloud. "Ore-sama's Tourist-Attracting Office Hotel that comes with a Hospital : The Hospitoffiseumotel of Atobe."

If you don't get it, see chapter two. Also, the word "hospitoffiseumotel" (hoss-spit-off-fiss-Z-im-mo-tell) is a mix of hospital, office, museum, and hotel. The "hospit" part is hospital, the "offi" part is office, the "seum" part is museum, and the "otel" part is hotel.

Ryuuzaki-sensei continued. "Ryoma on Floor 39. Looked disturbed. With 8 guards, Kabaji one."

The others were silent and looked at the now unconscious Shishido.

Ryuuzaki-sensei was looking triumphant. "He found out a lot. Ryoma's on floor 39 of... this building _and_ who was with him! I didn't know he had such potential!"

Everyone else nodded. Even Fuji was on the verge of opening his eyes with wonder.

"Well," Ryuuzaki-sensei said. "Let's head to, um, the Hospitoffiseumotel!"

Eiji and Oishi each dragged either Shishido or Sengoku and trailed behind the rest of the group.

- - -

"Nanako-channnnnnn! The cat's deaaaaaad!" Nanjiroh hollered, poking Karupin with a play toy.

Karupin's PoV:

I hate it when the giant does that...

Where's my food...

I wish my stomach would shut up...

End Karupin's PoV.

"Oh, wait, it twitched. Nevermind!" Nanjiroh hollered again. He heard Nanako sigh.

- - -

Ryoma turned on the news channel to see if they still had news on him. He was half paying attention, half not because he was too worried about Karupin.

Kabaji and the seven other MIBs made a barrier at the door. But Ryoma didn't really feel like getting up and trying to escape anyways. Not until he had a plan.

Suddenly, he felt this weird feeling. Like someone was watching him. He looked all around him. The guards and Kabaji were all watching the television. No one was watching Ryoma.

_That's odd..._ Ryoma thought.

He shrugged and went back to brooding over Karupin.

* * *

**A/N: It is kind of short so sorry! But I think it's a significant change in update time so that's good, right? Thank you for reading! PLEASE PLEASE review! I'll keep the Author's note short for now! Just one last thing, for anyone who's reading Hunt, it's on hold right now because I'm working on a KH fanfic.**


	8. 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis and its characters belongs to Konomi Takeshi, not me. Jack Bauer and President Wayne Palmer belong to 24, not me.****  
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"Whoaaa... That's a big... um... hospitoffiseumotel...," murmured Momo. The others nodded in agreement. Well, Sengoku and Shishido didn't. Since they're unconscious and all, you know?

"It IS owned by the Atobes, nya...," muttered Eiji.

Ryuuzaki-sensei inhaled deeply. "Now, you all know what do to?"

"Yes, sensei, just take Ryoma and run for it, we know...," Oishi sighed. Everyone nodded. They'd gone over the simple plan 50 gabajillion times on the way to the Atobe hospitoffiseumotel.

Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded back. "Okay, well, you all go in and I'll stay in the limo and wait for you guys!"

"Nya, why are you staying, sensei?"

"Because I don't want to get up and there's a TV in here. Now shoo!"

The team and the two unconscious clairvoyants scuttled out of the limo and Ryuuzaki-sensei slammed the door shut right after the last person's foot was out. Everyone looked sad and dejected (at least the ones that had emotions) and walked towards the humongous hospitoffiseumotel.

Everyone but Fuji.

The tensai's eyes were open and his face distorted into an unreadable expression.

"Stop!" Fuji suddenly shouted at his teammates.

The others turned, confused by Fuji's sudden outburst.

"What is it, Fuji," Tezuka said, icily, making the question more of a command. You could tell he wanted his pillar of Seigaku back NOW.

Fuji hesitated before closing his eyes back to their normal horseshoe shape and smiling his normal creepy smile.

"Saa... I was just thinking that we might want to leave the seers behind. It'd be too much trouble to carry them around."

The others saw the logic to this. Everyone but Tezuka quickly rushed to bring the two bodies back to the limo.

Tezuka and Fuji stood face to face. Tezuka narrowed his eyes. Fuji opened his eyes.

They stared and stared, neither one blinking. Tezuka's face remained emotionless. Fuji's face remained awkwardly strained in that smile with a touch of cryptic evilness.

A gust of wind blew, Fuji's brunette hair whipping in front of his sinister face. He'd play good in a horror movie. Tezuka's spiked hair didn't move. I think he uses gel... A tumble weed rolled on the ground and froze right in between the two. It remained motionless, regardless of the obvious wind.

The rest of the team came back and saw that their captain and the team's tensai hadn't moved or budged one bit. They all shivered; first slightly at Tezuka's ice cold glare, then violently at Fuji's way-too-happy-looking smile and open eyes.

Being way too creeped out by this staring contest and the tense atmosphere, Eiji popped up in between the two contestants and broke the silence.

"N-nya! We should be going to rescue Ochibi now, Buchou, Fujiko-chan!"

Fuji closed his eyes and smiled at Eiji. "Saa, we should be going, yes. Shall we, Tezuka?"

Tezuka didn't change. He stayed pokerfaced and impassive. "Hn."

The two started walking to the hospitoffiseumotel together, as if nothing had happened, leaving the rest of the team behind, very confused. The rest of the Seigaku regulars then shrugged it off and followed Tezuka and Fuji towards the building.

Momo found the tumbleweed still frozen on the ground. "That's weird... How'd tumbleweed get in the middle of a city? Whatever...," he said aloud before kicking the tumbleweed away. Then, he followed everyone else.

- - -

Ryoma yawned and pondered whether or not it'd be a good idea to jump out of the window. He guessed that it'd hurt. Seeing that it was the 39th floor and all. So he gave up that idea.

Kabaji and the seven guards were watching 24 again. Jack Bauer really fascinated them.

Ryoma got up and stood next to Kabaji, staring up at his face until finally Kabaji turned from the TV and looked down at Ryoma.

"Kabaji-kun? Could you get me a saw?" Ryoma asked innocently with wide eyes.

Kabaji looked back at the TV. He wouldn't fall for this a second time.

"Please?"

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"Please?"

"..."

"Please?"

"Usu," Kabaji said finally, getting annoyed with the midget. Ryoma was distracting him from watching 24. If he got Ryoma the saw, maybe he could watch 24 in peace.

After digging around in the closet of the room, Kabaji found a heavy duty saw and tossed it to Ryoma. Good thing Ryoma caught it on the handle, not the sharp part...

Ryoma muttered a thanks but Kabaji was already back to watching 24. Ryoma shook his head and decided to try something. He took the saw and lifted it high above his head, so it was perpendicular to the floor. He glanced at the eight guards watching 24 intently and then brought the saw heavily down onto the ground.

The saw broke through the floor into the ceiling of the 38th floor. Ryoma looked over at the guards watching 24, sure that they'd heard him. Instead, he saw that they were still fixedly watching Jack Bauer, ignoring Ryoma completely. Even Kabaji hadn't budged.

Ryoma exhaled, nodded and then starting to bring the saw up and down. The saw cut through the floor of floor 39 and the ceiling of floor 38. It was long and tiresome, cutting through all this, but Ryoma continued, remembering that his Karupin needed feeding. No matter how strong the stuff the floor/ceiling was made from, it was no match for Ryoma's will power and the saw's strength.

The cut started taking the shape of a circle. Ryoma was satisfied to see that he could easily fit through the circle. The people on floor 38 heard the sawing above and looked up to find a humongous saw moving up and down and cutting through the ceiling. People self-concluded that terrorists had arrived and had started taking apart the building. They ran around screaming their heads off and eventually running into a wall and falling unconscious. After a while, all the people on floor 38 ran into walls and fell unconscious.

Ryoma finally cut a full circle big enough for him to fit through. He let the piece of floor/ceiling fall onto the 38th floor. There was a big crash but the guards STILL didn't budge from in front of the TV.

Ryoma gently laid the saw on the ground next to him and commenced in lowering himself into the hole. Using his immensely great upper body strength, he lowered himself inch by inch, making sure not to fall straight in because the distance from the ceiling of floor 38 to the floor was probably very great.

Finally, all of his body was through the hole except for his arms, which he needed to hang there. He looked down at floor 38 and cocked his head to the side.

_Why's everyone unconscious..._ he thought to himself. He shrugged and decided that their bodies would be a perfect cushion for his fall.

He scanned the area for the biggest pile of the fattest unconscious people. He spotted the perfect pile near a wall to the far left. Then, Ryoma started to swing his body to and fro, giving him enough momentum to let go at the last second and launch himself to the large pile of fat people. As he flew through the air, he turned over so he'd land on his back. He curled himself into a ball, covering his face and precious cap with his arms.

He landed on the bodies safely, except for his stomach's left side, which ended up on someone's bony elbow. He moaned before coolly getting up and pulling his cap fully back on his head.

Ryoma restrained himself from doubling over. That elbow was _really_ bony...

He started to limp very, very slowly to the elevator.

- - -

"Everyone got your rackets and stuff ready?" Tezuka checked.

The others nodded, slipping their hands into their pockets just to make sure.

"Good. Yudan sezu ni Ikou." Tezuka muttered before the elevator doors slid open, revealing the 39th floor.

Everyone filed silently out of the elevator and faced the eight guards guarding the door to Atobe's room, where Ryoma was supposed to be being held captive. The eight MIBs guarding the door narrowed their eyes, though the Seigaku regulars couldn't see this because of the black sunglasses the MIB all wore.

It was eight MIB against eight Seigaku regulars. Each regular was facing their own guard.

Eiji was jumping up in down, waiting to attack his guard.

Oishi was trying to calm Eiji down and thinking to himself that he honestly didn't want to hurt this guard but he'd have to for Ryoma's sake.

Taka was looking like he'd rather not hurt his guard too but he knew that once he had his hands on his racket...

Inui's glasses glinted in the light and his smirk made his guard shiver. His brain was probably calculating stuff very fast right now and he had something in his pocket along with his racket...

Momo and Kaidoh were glaring at each other, silently vowing to beat his guard before the other. Their guards looked at them, looked at each other, and then shrugged.

Fuji was... looking like himself. His naturally-creepy-and-sinister-looking self. His guard silently wished that he could trade spots with Taka's guard.

Tezuka was... also looking like himself. His naturally-unemotional-and-expressionless-looking self. His guard was sweat dropping under Tezuka's cold glare.

Finally, Tezuka nodded. Since the whole team had a psychological link, even the regulars who weren't looking at him knew he'd given them the okay to attack the guards. They all advanced on their waiting MIBs.

The rest is too gruesome to tell to you kids.

Actually, it's not that bad so it's okay to say.

Eiji used his immensely skilled acrobatics to beat up his guard. He bounced up behind the guard so quickly that the MIB didn't even have time to turn around. Eiji put his hands on the guard's shoulders, gripped them really hard, and flipped over the guard's head. When he landed, he brought his arms over his hand, bringing the guard along over with them and slamming the guard's body onto the ground. Wanting more fun, he allowed the guard to stagger back up before commencing his acrobatic assault.

Oishi slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny racket the size of a crayon. Then, he clicked a button on the handle of the racket and it started to grow. Clicks could be heard as the racket grew and parts locked into place. Finally, the racket stopped growing once it reached the size of a normal racket. Oishi branded the racket as if it was a sword. The guard ran at him. Oishi raised the racket above his head and, as he dodged the running guard, he brought the racket down on the guard's head. The strings of the racket snapped and it fell around the guard's neck, choking the guard since he'd been running so fast. Then, Oishi started swinging the racket around how, making the guard choke while swinging along. After building up momentum, Oishi slipped the racket over the guard's neck and the guard went flying into a wall.

Taka had also taken out his miniature racket. His expression changed from timid to BURNINGGGGGGGGGG!!! He roared before he charged at the frightened guard like a bull. While charging, he clicked the button on the handle of his racket and it, too, grew. The guard, who now overcame his fear of the burning teenager, brought his fist back to punch Taka. Taka held the racket in front of his face right as the guard swung his fist to punch him. The guard's fist punched through the strings and Taka dodged his face away from it. Then, Taka twisted the racket so that the guard's arm was in an abnormal position. The guard cried out in pain as Taka pinned him to the ground.

Inui stood waiting for the guard to attack him. The guard, tired of waiting for the rectangle-glasses kid, switched to offensive and ran towards Inui. Suddenly, Inui put his hand up and the guard stopped right in front of him. With the guard very confused, Inui slipped his hand into his pocket and took out a clear spray bottle with the sides covered with paper so that the guard couldn't see what was inside. Before the guard could react, Inui sprayed a bit of the liquid into the guard's mouth. Inui counted to six in his head and the guard fell unconscious on cue.

Momo and Kaidoh were battling it out. Neither had taken out his racket yet. Instead, they were using their sheer power and force to bring down their guards. They punched and kicked and bruised and bit (well, not really) their guards while stealing glances at the other to see their progress. It was hard to tell who won.

Fuji didn't have to budge. He merely smiled innocently at the guard. The guard was confused. Then, Fuji's eyes shot open while his smile stuck. The guard then ran away screaming.

Tezuka didn't have to budge either. He stood there, arms crossed and eyes fixed on the guard. The guard trembled and forced himself to run towards the creepy statue of a teenager. Tezuka didn't move. The guard got closer to him. Tezuka still didn't move. The guard was just a few feet away from him. Tezuka didn't move. Finally, the guard halted a few inches in front of Tezuka, unsure what to do. Tezuka stared down at the guard's eyes.

"Twenty laps around the building."

The guard obediently obeyed and ran off to do his laps.

- - -

The eight Seigaku regulars entered the Atobe room to find eight more guards (including Kabaji) staring at the TV watching the President Wayne Palmer collapse while declaring a nuclear strike on Russia.

The regulars were confused to find no Ryoma but rather a large hole in the ground. Then, they realized that he'd escaped and that Atobe's guards suck.

- - -

Ryoma had just reached the elevator when the doors swung open themselves without him clicking the button. Confused, he looked up.

There in the spotlight stood his Seigaku tennis team. The shined like angels and looked triumphant about something.

Ryoma was blinded by the light and moaned more. His stomach was still in pain from that elbow.

Pissed off by the light, he moved to the other elevator to the right, hoping that the people in it weren't as luminescent.

"Ochibi!!" whined Eiji. Everyone else looked dejected. They'd gone through all this trouble to save Ryoma but, in the end, he didn't seem like he was grateful.

As the others helped him into the elevator, Ryoma was thinking: _Finally... I can go home to my Karupin... _

- - -

Karupin's PoV:

My giant's back! Ryoma's back! He fed me! Yay, I'm so happy! Finally, my stomach shut up! Yay! I clawed Nanjiroh-san's face off for not feeding me! Yay! I'm so happy!

End Karupin's PoV.

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**A/N: It took a while but Ryoma's finally been saved by SEIGAKU!!! YAY! And dear old Karupin is finally fed. I'm so happy, haha. This isn't the end, by the way. Obviously. Thank you for reading and please please please review! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Aren't you happy I'm starting to update faster wink?**


	9. Book 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi. _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ belongs to Shakespeare.****  
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It was a week after Ryoma's rescue. The entire Organization had finished tennis practice and was now assembling in the underground headquarters. Seigaku arrived together, then Hyoutei Organization members, then Fudoumine members, Jyousei members, Rikkaidai members, and Rokkaku members. The lone Organization members from St. Rudolph and Yamabuki arrived last.

At the Round Table of 24, 24 students sat together around the large, circular table. Three coaches sat in comfy couches around the table. Five students around the table sat in higher chairs than the rest. Those five specific tennis players were sitting next to each other and looked more important than the rest of the junior high kids.

Among the five kids were Ryoma, Tachibana, Takahisa, Sengoku, and Shishido. All of them sat with their backs straight and proudly looked down at the rest of the kids.

Well, actually, Shishido had his head in his arms on the table and appeared to be sleeping... And, well, Ryoma was slumped backwards in his chair... and... Obviously, he was too short, even on the high chair, to look down at the rest of the kids. Sigh, poor midget...

The three coaches in their comfy little couches were Ryuuzaki from Seigaku, Ojii from Rokkaku, and Hanamura from Jyousei. They were all not paying attention to anything going on at the Round Table. Instead, they were playing Gameboys. Most likely tennis video games...

The Round Table was wild and noisy, with mostly all the tennis players chattering about or arguing. Only the few who never talked actually didn't talk. The coaches were not trying to control the students because it was tradition that, during Organization evening meetings, only the students participated.

Tachibana cleared his throat, a signal for everyone to shut up. Only the Fudoumine players stopped talking and paid attention to Tachibana. Sighing, he looked at Tezuka for help. Tezuka cleared his throat slightly and glowed with the faintest hint of gold. Everyone immediately turned their complete attention to Tezuka, who directed their attention to Tachibana.

Tachibana nodded to Tezuka in thanks and then faced everyone else. "Hello, everyone. I'm sure we've all worked hard at today's practices, yes?"

A few people mumbled a yes. The Fudoumine players shouted a yes.

Tachibana nodded again. "Good. As you know, last week we discovered a new seer. Since we haven't had a meeting since then yet, we shall introduce him now. Everyone, our newest Organization member and clairvoyant: Echizen Ryoma!"

Tachibana swept his hand over Ryoma, signaling Ryoma's part to rise. He frowned when he saw that Ryoma was slumped back into his chair with his hat over his eyes. He was most likely sleeping.

"Echizen," Tachibana whispered, shaking the first year. Ryoma lifted his hat slightly, looking annoyed.

Satisfied that Ryoma was awake, Tachibana continued. "Echizen not only is the first first year to join our Organization but he's also the first first year to become a clairvoyant! It's a mystery why..."

Every tennis player in the room who'd played against Ryoma huffed and rolled their eyes. They'd all lost to him.

"Anyways, Ryoma's been informed off everything about our Organization and so, now, he is an official seer. He's still a beginner of course so he still needs a bit of training but I'm sure he'll be ready in no time."

The tennis players (and coaches) all grunted an okay or nodded before scattering to hang out around the headquarters. The only players remaining were the five seers. And Tezuka.

"Come, Echizen. We have to teach you the basics of future-reading," Takahisa said, starting to leave the Round Table room. Tachibana woke up Shishido and made him and Sengoku follow Takahisa. Ryoma remained seated until Tezuka asked him to follow the other seers. Ryoma obeyed and left, leaving Tezuka alone at the empty table.

- - -

As the other three seers went into their own separate Reading Rooms, Takahisa and Ryoma went to the Takahisa's Reading Room so that Ryoma could learn how to read.

The Reading Room, like all other Reading Rooms, was a compact little room stuffed with stuff. Bordering all the sides of the room were bookcases and shelves holding random stuff and supplies. In the center of the room was a small, white pod. The only clear space was a path leading from the door of the room to the pod and a little path surrounding the pod.

Takahisa and Ryoma stood in the path. Ryoma had his hat on, covering his face from Takahisa's view. Takahisa was assigned to be Ryoma's trainer so he started to teach Ryoma the basics of future-reading.

"Okay, Echizen-kun. All you need to know to perform a successful and strong reading is 24."

Ryoma nodded with his head faced down. "24."

"Right, good. So, everything you do, everything you use, everything you say, everything in a reading has to do with 24."

Ryoma nodded. "24."

"Yes, 24. Alright, so, if you had to use marbles in a reading for whatever reason, how many marbles would you use?"

Ryoma nodded. "24."

"Good. Okay, if you had to use zucchinis in a reading for whatever reason, how many of them would you use?"

Ryoma nodded. "24."

"Right! And if you had to use giraffe eyeballs for whatever reason, how many of them would you use?"

Ryoma nodded. "24."

"You are a quick learner, Echizen, a quick learner. Good, so now, the other part to performing a good reading is focus. You have to focus REALLY REALLY hard on what you are trying to find or see. If you don't, you'll just see some random future that is of no use to us."

Ryoma nodded. "24."

"..." Takahisa looked down at Ryoma, whose hat covered his face. Takahisa knocked Ryoma's hat off and saw Ryoma's eyes closed as if he was sleeping.

"RYOMA!"

Ryoma blinked his eyes lazily. "Mm?"

Takahisa sighed. He tried to hold himself back from slapping the kid. He hurriedly pushed Ryoma into the white pod while the kid was still awake.

Inside the pod was -- nothing. Well, there was one thing and one thing only -- a white cushion in the center to match the rest of the pod. Takahisa and Ryoma walked fully into the pod and crouched while the tiny white entrance swung shut. Takahisa went and kneeled on the little white cushion.

"Okay, Echizen-kun, please don't fall asleep on me... So this is the Reading Pod. This is where we perform our readings for the best concentration. Sure, we can do them anywhere we want but this is the best place to focus because it's soundproof and pure white to help concentration."

"Uh huh..."

"So when doing a reading, you want to sit down comfortably in a position (most of us kneel) so that you can concentrate without distractions. To execute a reading, you have to focus really hard on the future you want to see. For instance, if you want to find out where someone will be going, say... tomorrow. Then, you have to concentrate on that person, tomorrow's date, and concentrate on location. Focus on anything else and you might just find out what the person's eating tomorrow or where the person is in a week. Understand?"

Ryoma, actually awake now, merely nodded but looked apathetic. Takahisa just decided to continue and hope Ryoma was listening.

"Okay, so combining the two concepts of 24 and concentration, I want you to practice future reading. We'll do a small trial run. I'm going to leave the Reading Room and go to the Organization library. In exactly half an hour, I'm going to choose a book from a random shelf. Right _now_, I want you to perform a reading.You're going to have to tell me all you can about the book I am going to choose. Hopefully you can tell me the genre, even better would be the title, and _even_ better would be the title and author. You'll have to finish the reading before the 30 minutes are up or else you won't be able to 'see' the book since it won't be the future anymore, it'd be the present.

"Alright, so I am going to go now," Takahisa stated, getting up. "I'll start the timer as soon as I leave this pod. After I'm out, I want you to collect your supplies to use for the reading in the room. As you can see, everything you could possibly imagine to use is in this room. You can use anything you want. Okay, Echizen-kun, I'm leaving."

Without hesitating to question if Ryoma understood anything he'd said, Takahisa left the pod and Ryoma was all alone, cramped in the little pod. Ryoma heard the timer click on and start ticking every second. He heard the door to the Reading Room click shut and then nothing.

Sighing, Ryoma stepped out of the pod and began to collect his supplies.

- - -

Takahisa sat in the library quietly bouncing a tennis ball on the table. He stared at his own timer ticking away and he restlessly ran his hand through his hair.

He _really_ didn't like teaching newcomers...

- - -

Over in Tachibana's Reading Room, Tachibana kneeled on the white cushion inside his white Reading Pod. Around him were 24 pieces of paper. On each was the number 24, scrawled in quick handwriting.

Tachibana's eyes were closed but relaxed. His hands rested on his lap as his eyes slowly opened, revealing their steel silver yet cloudy gray color.

The Fudomine captain remained silent with his eyes open for a long time. Then, he suddenly shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut. Opening them again, he began to scribble something quickly in a small notebook.

- - -

Takahisa jumped up from the shrill sound of the timer in his hand. Yawning, he realized the 30 minutes was up. He sluggishly got up and smoothed out his hair.

After looking around, Takahisa decided to choose a Shakespearean play. He made his way over the shelves and selected a book.

_A Midsummer Night's Dream..._ read Takahisa. _Huh. Classic..._

He held the closed book for a while so that Ryoma would have a chance to read the title and author and stuff. Of course, supposing Ryoma could.

He then opened the play to a random page. It was Organization requirements for him to do this just in the case Ryoma could even "see" the page number and some words on the page. Takahisa highly doubted a first year like Ryoma could do that so he disregarded the page and was about to close the book when a person tapped him on the shoulder.

Takahisa turned and faced Tezuka.

"Tezuka," he greeted the other captain.

Tezuka stared emotionlessly at Takahisa. "I'd remember the page number if I were you... And a few lines couldn't hurt."

Without another word, Tezuka turned and left the library, leaving Takahisa very puzzled.

Shrugging, he decided to take the Seigaku captain's advice. In a small notebook quite like Tachibana's, Takahisa took down the page number he was on. He still didn't think Ryoma had the potential to "see" something as specific as lines so he didn't write any down.

With that, he figured it was about time to go back and check on Ryoma. He walked away, leaving _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ on the table.

- - -

Ryoma knelt on the cushion in the pod with 24 books around him. In his hand was a notebook and in the other a pencil. His hat was, once again, covering his face.

The door to the pod swung open and Takahisa entered. "Echizen-kun. I'm back."

Ryoma blinked and then yawned. "'Bout time..."

Takahisa sighed. _The boy fell asleep _again

"So, Echizen-kun, tell me what you saw."

Ryoma didn't speak. He looked over Takahisa's shoulder at the pod's entrance. He looked as if he was concentrating or listening for something.

"Echizen-kun?"

"Hn. The play _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ by Shakespeare. It's a fantasy/humor/romance play. Page 83. Act 3 Scene 2. Oberon says: 'I wonder if Titania be awaked; / Then what it was that next came in her eye/ Which she must dote on in extremity,'" Ryoma read from his notebook.

Takahisa was astonished. He was shocked and gaping at the first year, who was lazily staring at the door still.

As if on Ryoma's cue, the door swung open and Tezuka stood in the entrance. "Takahisa-kun."

Takahisa, mouth still wide open, turned. Tezuka suddenly threw a book to him and he barely had enough time to react and catch it.

"You can check it," Tezuka stated monotonously before leaving the pod and swinging the door shut behind him.

Takahisa flipped to page 83 and was even more astounded to find that Ryoma had stated the lines word for word.

Ryoma stared at the Jyousei captain. "Do you want more lines? I have more..."

Takahisa shook his head. "No... No, thank you, this will do. You may go, Echizen-kun."

Ryoma dipped his head, smirking. "Mada mada dane."

The midget then left the pod and the Reading Room, leaving Takahisa alone in the pod.

Takahisa then noticed Ryoma had left his notebook on the white cushion. Leaning over, Takahisa picked up the small notebook and read what was scribbled on it.

_That kid..._ Takahisa thought to himself.

_He... wrote down the entire page..._

- - -

Ryuuzaki-sensei sat in Commons I with a tennis magazine, staring intently at the pictures of the pro tennis players. Tachibana and Takahisa both entered the room at the same time and stood in from of Ryuuzaki-sensei, side by side.

Takahisa took the liberty of speaking first. "Ryuuzaki-san. I have just completed Ryoma's evaluation/training. You... might want to take a look at the results..."

Ryuuzaki-sensei's eyes flashed with curiosity.

Tachibana spoke next. "Ryuuzaki-san, I just 'saw' a new case. We should dispatch a team immediately... I believe the Corporation is already on the move."

Ryuuzaki-sensei nodded at them both. "Tachibana, gather your team wisely. You and one other seer may go. No more, no less. Takahisa, stay and tell me the results."

Tachibana turned to leave. Then he stopped. Without turning, he asked, "Can I take Echizen?"

Ryuuzaki-sensei looked up. Pondering for a few seconds, she nodded. "If you wish."

Tachibana nodded and left.

"Now," Ryuuzaki-sensei said at Takahisa. "Show me these results..."

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**A/N: I'm going to keep the Author's Note short this time. Thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed it, hope you will review because you feel sorry for me. Thank you very much.**

**PS - I used _A Midsummer Night's Dream _because we're reading it in school right now. Hahaa.**


	10. Bookshelf 24

**24**

**Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis belongs to Konomi Takeshi, not me.**

**A/N: **In the past I've procrastinated and put off updated for one or two months.. but this time.. I TOTALLY overdid it! I am soooooooooooooo very sorry!! How long's it been.. like half a year? Wow, I really sincerely apologize! Truthfully, though, I miss 24 so I'm glad I'm back. I really want to thank **VampireGirl22** for telling me to get my lazy butt off the couch xD.. haha, thanks, that really knocked some senses into me and got me back into writing. Also thanks to **Tuli-Susi**, who basically told me the same thing. I will really really really try hard to update faster now. Sorry to all you readers!! Enjoy this new chapter!

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"Echizen-kun."

"Hn." Echizen sat sprawled across the limousine seat with Karupin on his chest.

"We have to fit four more people in the back."

"So?"

"You're taking up three seats."

"Your point?"

Tachibana's eye twitched. He looked towards the other four for help. The other four included Eiji, Inui, Youhei and Kouhei.

Eiji nudged the first year. "Nya, Ochibi! If you don't move, I won't be able to come with you on this case!"

"Thank goodness..." Ryoma muttered.

"What was that, Ochibi? I didn't hear you, nya!" Eiji said.

Ryoma sighed. "Nevermind."

Youhei and Kouhei looked at each other and then shrugged.

Inui tried. "Echizen."

"..."

"If you don't move, we'll sit on you."

"..." Ryoma still didn't budge.

"That means that one of us will sit on Karupin too. You know how strong a cat's bones are? They are very easily broken, any one of us could just sit and then _squish_ goes your Hima—"

Ryoma sat straight up in the seat and cradled his Karupin close to his body, keeping his distance from Inui, whose glasses glinted as he climbed into the limousine. Eiji clambered in too. Youhei and Kouhei snickered at Inui's coaxing tactics before following everyone else into the limousine. The chauffeur shut the door behind them.

Tachibana sat shotgun. The driver asked Tachibana where to go.

"Joseph Case Memorial Library," Tachibana stated. (1)

The driver nodded his head and pushed his shades back before starting up the limousine. Ryoma, sitting in the very corner, looked out the window and yawned while unconsciously petting Karupin with one hand.

He was interrupted from his nap when Tachibana spoke up. "Everyone, I'll explain to you the circumstances of this mission. First off, the item we're after today is called the Golden Book of Intuition. It is extremely rare, the only copy ever made. It is somewhere in Joseph Case but it is said to be heavily guarded and its exact location right now is unclear.

"The Corporation has already sent their team for it so we'll have to work quickly to reach the Book first. From what I saw a minute ago, their team consists of seven people. That's one more than us. We should be fine though, I picked you all to match your opponents well."

Tachibana looked at Inui, who pushed his glasses back.

"Alright," Inui began, "I've mapped out the entire Joseph Case building. I'll be in the getaway car, as always, to assist you guys. Youhei?"

Youhei nodded. He fumbled in his bag, took out six mini earphones and speaker clips. He distributed one of each to everyone. Ryoma watched and mimicked everyone else, who had already put their earphone in one ear and clipped their tiny speaker onto their shirt.

Inui continued. "I have your gadgets here in these pouches. Each of you should find what you need in it. Work together, remember, none of you can get the Book alone. Do it just like we always do it."

He handed out the black pouches. Everyone strung their pouches to their utility belts. Ryoma resisted his urge to look inside his, since no one else even showed the slightest sign of curiosity about what was in their pouches.

Tachibana turned around and tapped Inui's shoulder.

"We're here, minna," Inui announced. "Alright. Eiji, you start in the front entrance then to the reference desk. Tachibana-san, front entrance, too. While Eiji causes a disturbance for you, make sure you search every nook and cranny of the Library for the Book. Youhei and Kouhei, you two will be look-outs for Tachibana. Anything you hear or see, tell me right away. I've placed trackers into everyone's earphones, as always, so I can monitor everyone's movements with my laptop."

Everyone nodded. They all piled their hands in the center (Ryoma mimicked) and Inui counted to three.

"One - two - three - TWENTY FOUR!" everyone shouted in unison. Then they all jumped out of the limousine and dispersed.

Ryoma stood there confused. Inui turned and looked at him. "Ah. Echizen. Do as you see fit."

With that, Inui kicked Ryoma out of the limo and left Ryoma standing in front of Joseph Case Memorial Library.

- - -

"Eiji. Go to the front desk now."

Eiji obeyed Inui's voice in his earphone and headed towards the front reference desk.

"Now, in your pouch, you should find a pencil. Yes?"

Eiji stuck his hand in and found the pencil. "Hai. Affirmative."

"Now push the eraser end. Be careful; don't let the lead end be facing you."

Eiji did as he was told. He pushed the eraser of the #2 pencil in.

And fire exploded from the other end.

"Sick, nya," Eiji whispered into his speaker, grinning.

- - -

"Eiji, stay in position," the rest of the team heard Inui say. "Alright, you guys. Tachibana, wait until you see all the guards, personnel, employees, people, head towards the reference desk. Then you can start your search. Kouhei, Youhei, stay close to him and also make sure _everyone_ in the building is watching Eiji so Tachibana can have privacy."

Ryoma heard the other lines click out. Inui left only Ryoma's line on.

"Echizen. I told you before to do as you see fit. That's still your order. But if I were you, I'd focus on the Corporization rather than what _we_'re doing. The others can handle getting the Book. You just make sure no one gets in their way."

"Where are they?" Ryoma asked.

"You're the seer, you tell me." All lines clicked back on.

- - -

"Alright, Eiji," Inui's voice commanded.

"Hoi hoi!" Eiji said enthusiastically with a grin on his face. He bounced up to the front desk with his pencil in one hand and a book in the other.

"Hi hi! I was just wondering if you could help me borrow this booook?" He asked, wide-eyed and innocent.

The librarian smiled and nodded. "Of course. If you'll give it to me, I'll check it out for you. Do you have a library card?"

Eiji cocked his head to the side. "Library card?"

"Hai," the librarian lady responded. "You need one to borrow anything from this library."

Eiji shook his head. "No, I don't have one. Is that a problem?"

"Yes, I'm afraid you can't check anything out without a card."

"EHH?!" Eiji exclaimed, acting utterly bewildered. "Nooo! I NEED this book!"

People around the front desk turned their heads to see what was going on.

"Please, sir, speak quieter," the librarian said, trying to hush Eiji, who was whimpering now, muttering to himself about what he'd do if he couldn't borrow the book.

"Sir, you can buy a library card right now if you really need to. It's only five dollars," the lady said, frantically trying to calm Eiji down.

"No, no, that won't work, nya! My grandma is in the hospital... she needs the money! I can't waste a cent on such trivial matters!" Eiji wailed, even louder now. People started to gather around the scene, staring in fascination at the crazy teenager.

"Sir, maybe if you came back another day with someone that actually has a library card..."

"No! I need this book NOW!" Eiji started whining. Security guards started to show up.

"Um, sir, I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to leave...," one guard said, reaching out to grab Eiji's flailing arms.

Eiji whipped out his pencil and pointed the lead end at the guard's face. The red-haired teenager's expression grew serious.

"Don't _touch_ me," he warned the guard in a sinister tone. Then he pushed the pencil's eraser in slightly and fire came out the other end, licking the guard's cheek for a slight second before retreating.

At that moment, Eiji was surrounded by seven security guards, all with tasers in their hands. They softly coaxed Eiji to put the pencil down, as if he were a rabid dog on the loose.

"Yadda! Touch me and I'll burn this book, nya!" he threatened viciously, holding up the pencil to the book. All the librarians gasped. The guards hesitantly withdrew their hands. "Yeah, that's RIGHT. Every book in this library is _precious_ isn't it? HAHAHAH!"

Eiji laughed maniacally as he backed up towards a bookshelf. "Come any closer and I'll burn them all!"

By now, nearly everyone in the library had come down to see the madman with the pencil-shaped flamethrower. The guards were calling in backup from all over the building. Eiji grinned.

- - -

Kouhei looked down at the front desk from the third floor. He shook his head and sighed. "Eiji-sempai..."

Youhei looked around them and listened for anyone still roaming around in the building. "We're clear," he said into his speaker.

"Hai," Tachibana said. And so he began his search for the Golden Book of Intuition.

- - -

"MUAHAHAHAHA!" Eiji cackled insanely as a guard ran off screaming, trying to perform Stop-Drop-and-Roll. "Do you believe me now? Touch me and next time I won't just burn you arm!"

The first librarian lady panicked. "Please, sir, you can borrow the book! For as long as you want! Read it to your sickly grandmother! Please, just stop this nonsense!" she begged to him.

"Nonsense?! I am NOT CRAZY!" Eiji screamed with his face contorted. Then, to prove his point, he started lighting books on fire. The entire audience gasped in unison. Some librarians started weeping. Guards rushed at him but he dodged every one of them and then burned them slightly, enough for them to stop lunging at him. His acrobatic skills were no match for them anyways.

Ryoma looked at the crazy scene from the Young Adults section. "Mada mada da ne, Eiji-sempai..." he sighed.

"Isn't this a little harsh on the library?" Tachibana asked Inui through the speakers while continuing his search.

Inui chuckled. "I already ordered a new set of books to be donated to the library. They should arrive tomorrow. Eiji's being careful; he's only burning the books I'd told him to burn."

Ryoma rolled his eyes and then found a quiet study room that he could have all to himself.

- - -

"Driverrrr," Kirihara whined. "Are we there yet??"

"Aa," Sanada murmured. The seven of them felt the limo come to a halt. They all bustled out and gazed at the large library towering over them.

"Can we go in now?" muttered Bane. He looked at Sanada, the leader, for approval.

Sanada gathered them all together. "Everyone, you know your jobs. The Organization is here already, I'm sure. We can beat them though. Gakuto, to the front desk. Kirihara and Yana, to the left wing. David and Bane, to the right wing. Don't screw this up."

With that, they turned around, preparing to head in their separate directions. But instead, they halted in their stops, staring incredulously at who was in front of them.

- - -

"Finally," Tachibana muttered. He reached out and turned a painting, which was hung up on the wall, sideways. He heard some clicking and the ground vibrated slightly. He, Youhei, and Kouhei turned to see the 24th bookshelf from the left start to slide.

And it revealed a large metal door.

"Inui. It's a vault."

- - -

"Echizen Ryoma?"

The seven Corporation members gazed at the first year in confusion.

"Sanada. He's not with the Organization, is he? He's a first year, da ne!" Yana whispered nervously.

"He shouldn't be... No first years ever know about 24..." Sanada mumbled under his breath.

"Unless this kid's the first first year," Gakuto said.

David eyed Ryoma. "The first year here's short." He snorted. "The first ear hears short." (2)

Everyone, including Ryoma, stared at David with disgusted expressions. Bane kicked the orange-haired idiot in the head.

"Mada mada da ne," Ryoma said to the seven Corporation members, sneering.

"Why are you here?" Sanada asked Ryoma.

"Same reason as you are."

Sanada looked Ryoma square in the eye, adamantly unwavering. "Hm. Are you alone?"

"Does it matter? I don't need anyone's help to defeat you all."

Kirihara snorted. "Cocky brat. We have more experience than you and we SO outnumber you. You won't last five seconds!"

"Wanna test that theory?" Echizen smirked at them.

Although he was arrogant and overconfident on the outside, Ryoma began to wonder exactly how he was going to defeat seven upperclassmen all on his own.

"Inui-sempai," he whispered into his speaker. "How _am_ I supposed to beat them?"

"You'll figure something out."

Ryoma cursed under his breath. _Thanks a bunch, sempai..._ he thought to himself.

"Try your pouch," Inui advised.

Looking down, Ryoma remembered the pouch Inui had given him. He reached in and took out an object.

The Corporation members were talking quietly to each other about what to do with Ryoma. Sanada finally allowed them to "cream the cocky little brat".

"Prepare to be obliviated," Kirihara sneered behind running towards Ryoma with his tennis racket weapon (identical to the ones used before by the Organization). The rest of the Corporation's team followed Kirihara's lead, advancing towards the first year half their height.

Ryoma tilted his hat down and smiled. "Mada mada da ne..."

* * *

**A/N: Enjoyed it? I really hope so.. I tried to make it slightly longer to make up for my long unexcused absence. I'm so excited to post the next chapter, some very intriguing new stuff will be revealed. Hopefully. I'd actually planned on it being revealed in this chapter and I also planned on the Golden Book episode to just take up this one chapter but I guess not, it's taking up two ... and with the 24 chapter limit I have... Well, I'll have to start planning better ;)**

**Ja ne! **


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